Tears Never Dry In Azarath
by calicoToones
Summary: In the middle of the night, Raven asks Beast Boy to go with her to Azarath, but won't tell him why. Is it an arranged marriage for her, or something far worse? Secrets from Raven's past have returned to haunt her, and together they must figure out what it all means. TONIGHT: THE FINAL CHAPTER!
1. A Midnight Visit

**Tears Never Dry in Azarath**

**1\. A Midnight Visit**

No soy dueño de los Teen Titans.

**This could be considered a Season 6 or 7 episode; that is the time frame.**

It was almost midnight as Raven nervously walked down the darkened hallway to Beast Boy's room. She had only been down here a few times. In the past, it was always he who had been seeking her out - either knocking on her door almost every day, interrupting her mediation, or pestering her with silly remarks when she was in the common room trying to read. Although he had sort of cooled down in the past few months, she realized.

But tonight, she needed him. She knew it was going to be awkward, and she was more than a little apprehensive.

_It is just all the stress I've been under_, she told herself as she came to his door. _He won't_ _say no_.

She paused in surprise, expecting the sign to say BEAST BOY, but now it said CHICO BESTIA. Looks like his trip to Mexico had a big influence on him. She smiled slightly at that, and then, hesitantly, knocked.

The door slid open. Raven cautiously entered the dimly lit room.

Beast Boy was slouching back in his desk chair with his shirt off, and holding an acoustic guitar. He was sideways to the door, and didn't bother turn his head to see who entered.

"Dude, I don't think I want to watch an episode tonight. Just about to go to bed," he said.

Raven cleared her throat. "Uh, Beast Boy…" she began tentatively.

He whirled his head around in shock. "Raven?"

"Uh, hi," she said.

"What are you doing here?" Then, perhaps realizing that sounded a little harsh, he continued, "I mean, you never come to my room. I thought you were Cyborg."

She noticed, uncomfortably, that he wasn't wearing any pants either, just his underwear.

He also became aware of that fact.

"Uh, you mind if I put some pants on?"

"Please," she deadpanned.

He set the guitar down and quickly scooted through the large doorway into the bathroom area.

"What's on your mind, Raven?" he called out.

She hesitated. "I just need to talk to you about something…"

"What is it?"

"I'll wait until you come back," she replied, looking around his room.

It really had been a while since she had been in here. She remembered a bunk bed, empty pizza boxes strewn about and childhood toys and clutter everywhere. He still had the bunk bed, but now it was used to store the toys, such as the infamous talking monkey that cried out at random times for help. (Help in learning to count). Hopefully he has taken the battery out, she thought.

But now Beast Boy had a new, larger bed that he slept in. The clutter on the floor was largely picked up, although she did see one empty pizza box on the floor near his desk.

_Wait, Beast Boy has a desk?_ He had a huge computer monitor and keyboard on it, and some art supplies scattered about. And several guitars, an electric one as well as the acoustic one he had been holding when she entered.

She remembered pictures of animals on the walls, and they were still there, but now there were many posters of scantily clad girls. All blondes, she noted dryly.

But what was really shocking to her was that he had a bookcase, filled with books. There was even one on the night stand next to his bed. She walked closer. What was he reading…?

"So, what's up Raven?" he asked, as he walked back into the room, fully dressed in his standard outfit.

She quickly stepped back from his bed. "Umm…," she fumbled for something to say. "So you and Cyborg sometimes watch movies in here at night? On the computer?"

"Yeah…Lately we're been watching the original _Star Trek_ episodes." He paused. "That's a television show from the 1960s".

"I know what _Star Trek_ is," she said.

"It spawned a bunch of other TV shows and movies…"

"Yes," she said, agreeing with him, but intending to stop this topic of conversation.

There was an awkward moment of silence.

"Um…You still haven't told me why you're here."

"I need to ask you for something…A favor."

Her voice was deathly serious. His eyes studied her carefully for a moment.

"Sure," he said softly. "What is it?"

"I'd like you to come to Azarath."

"Azarath?"

"It's where I'm from," she said gently, without any trace of sarcasm like '_why don't you_ _know that after all these years_?'

"I know," he replied. "You want **me** to go to Azarath?"

"Yes, with me. Tonight."

"Why?"

"I'd rather not go into details now."

"Hold on. This isn't that thing where you take me to another dimension and strand me there, is it?" he said with a slight smile, but also a trace of concern.

"No, Beast Boy."

"You promise?"

"Yes," she said with exasperation. "Look, when have I done anything that would actually hurt you?"

It was true. Over the years she had battled him with a lot of dry humor, cutting remarks and sarcasm, but never in a truly mean spirited way. And she'd beaned him with the occasional couch pillow, or given him a wedgie via dark energy when needed, but nothing more.

Except for the one time...

The time they never talked about. Now, for a moment, they both uncomfortably recalled it. They were alone in the kitchen, verbally jousting about some little thing. He had been teasing her, and crossed the line on a sensitive subject. As tears formed in her eyes, her powers picked him up and threw him backwards into the wall at full force.

Horrified, she rushed over to see if he was OK, before storming out of the room with her tears. Beast Boy had always felt the look of pain in her eyes after his remark had hurt worse than the bruises. Later, she had done what she could to heal him and they lied to Robin and the rest of the team as to how the dent got in the wall.

That event had led to one good thing, their unspoken truce. Not wanting to ever fight like that again, they had both been a little bit kinder and gentler in their remarks, and Beast Boy stayed away from some subjects entirely in his joking.

...Back to the present:

"I'm still not clear on what this mission is about and why you want me to come," he persisted.

"It's not a mission," she replied. "Look, if you don't want to go, fine."

The degree to which something was upsetting her was apparent in her voice.

"I'll go, Raven. I'm happy to help." He smiled to try to lighten the mood. "But you can't even give me a hint?"

"It's a family thing," she said, after a moment. "It's a thing in my family. I received a letter and I have to go home to Azarath to fulfill an obligation."

"Wait a minute. This isn't going to be some kind of an arranged marriage, is it? That's where I think this is going…" he said, _mostly_ joking.

"No, Beast Boy."

"Good, because I'm a handsome young man, still playing the field. I'm seeing a lot of girls!"

"Yes, no doubt you are looking at pictures of a lot of girls on your computer," she deadpanned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, with a quick glance to make sure the computer was turned off.

"Can we go now?" she asked.

He nodded, and she led the way as they walked out his door and headed to her room.

.

.

They arrived at the door to Raven's room, and she opened it.

"Wait, I don't have my communicator," he said, as he started to turn back.

"You won't need it. There is no way to get a signal transmitted from Azarath."

They entered the room, and Beast Boy looked around. Stone gargoyles seemed to stare at him from the tops of her many bookcases. Raven's room used to be off limits to every one, although in the last year she had loosened up a bit and did allow visitors in occasionally, like Starfire. She usually talked to him in the hallway.

In the center of the floor was a circle of flickering candles. White sand had been poured on the floor in a circular pattern, but the pattern wasn't complete. Raven picked up the urn of sacred sand and prepared to complete it.

"Shouldn't we tell the others?" he asked.

"I left a voice message for Robin," she replied, as she poured the sand.

"And it has to be right now, in the middle of the night?"

"Yes."

"You're **sure **this isn't some kind of an arranged marriage? I mean, I saw this episode of Star Trek where they beam down to Spock's planet because Spock is supposed to marry this girl and Kirk and Spock end up in a fight to the death with these big axes…"

She started to give him a withering look, but softened it. She didn't want to do anything to potentially make him decide not to go.

"I'm pretty sure that is not going to happen. We are not going to fight to the death in Azarath, and **we** are not going to get married."

"Good, because I am not looking to marry you," he said. Then, remembering their truce, added, "Not that there is anything wrong with someone marrying you."

"It's time," she said, and indicated for him to step into the circle with her.

"But, seriously, why me, Raven? I mean, I'm totally willing to go, but, uh, given our …history…wouldn't you maybe have a better time with Starfire? Or Robin?"

"I've thought about all that," she said and then added, hesitantly, "You're the best choice, Beast Boy."

They stepped into the circle, and she turned so they were facing each other. Beast Boy was feeling a little awkward at standing so very close, but Raven was too preoccupied with worry to think about that.

"We have to hold hands," she said, as she clasped both his hands as if they were going to pray together. She closed her eyes and prepared to enter a meditative state and focus her energy.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos…"

They were engulfed in a swirl of colored light, and then they were gone.

The candles flickered in the silent, empty room. The gargoyles stared at nothing.


	2. Walking the Path

**Tears Never Dry in Azarath**

**Ch 2. Walking the Path**

**[**_**Author's note: **__Please be aware that the Azarath in this story is not quite the same as what is described in the comics]._

When the swirl of colors faded, they found themselves standing on the side of a mountain made of rock. The afternoon sun hung low in the sky. They were high above sea level, as the air was thinner and carried a slight chill. A deep gorge stretched out to the side of them, filled with mist.

Beast Boy let go of Raven's hands and took a step back out of her personal space. She stood motionless for a moment, and looked drained. He saw that they were standing on a part of a long trail that wound its way up the mountain, with ancient steps carved into the stone.

"This is Azarath?" Beast Boy asked. "It doesn't look like what we saw when me and Cyborg went inside your mirror."

"No, that's Azarath," she replied, pointing to a distant city higher up the mountain. It could have been something you would see in Tibet or Nepal, but every building was made entirely of wood, and the city was surrounded with a wall, also made of dark wood. No people were visible. A huge building stood in the center, possibly a temple.

Beast Boy also saw smoke or steam rising from the mountain peak. Evidently the city was built near an active volcano.

"Come on," Raven said, as she began walking up the path. "We have to get inside the city before nightfall."

"We have to climb all that way? Couldn't we just have transported into the city?"

"Yes, but then we would be noticed by the Mind of Azar," she replied.

"So we're not supposed to be here?"

"I just want us to go unnoticed…At least, for as long as possible."

They climbed the trail up the mountain in silence for a while, with Raven marching onward with grim determination and Beast Boy bringing up the rear. There were some puddles of rain water on the path, and the stone had been worn down by thousands of years or erosion. In the distance, Beast Boy could see storm clouds slowly drifting towards them.

"I remember when we went to Starfire's home world," Beast Boy remarked, breaking the silence. "And it turned out she was a member of the royal family. I wonder if you are royalty here?"

"Yes," she deadpanned, without turning to look at him. "I'm the daughter of a demon king, so I'm a princess, too." She paused. "I'm sure there is a special place in Hell reserved for me because of that."

"Come on, Raven. Don't say things like that."

She only grunted, and they trudged on, splashing through a puddle, and then climbing a winding section of carved steps.

"You know, if you had brought Cyborg, he would be able to climb this mountain without breaking a sweat," he added.

"There is no electricity in Azarath. I'm not even sure if Cyborg would be able to function here."

"I'm still not clear why you brought me."

"Your ability to transform into animals will greatly impress everyone. No one here can do anything like that."

Beast Boy silently mulled that over as they continued climbing the trail. The sun sank lower in the sky, and after what seemed like another hour, he had had enough. They reached a flat part of the path, and there were several rocks that could serve as a bench.

"Hold up, Raven. I'm exhausted." He sat down on one of the rocks. With a sigh, Raven stopped and sat down on the one next to him.

Raven pulled out two bottles of water she had somehow invisibly stored in her cloak and handed him one. They both took a long drink.

"Can you tell me some more about this summons that you received?"

"It just said that now that I am of age, I must return to fulfill my obligation to the family of Arella."

He took another drink of water. "Arella is your mom?"

"She is the woman who gave birth to me." She paused and eyed him suspiciously. "How would you know that?"

"Um, I looked you up on … the internet."

"You've lived in the tower with me for how many years now? And you looked up what's written by crackpots on the internet?"

"Well, you're not exactly talkative! Anyway, I wouldn't do it today, I'm over that kind of stuff. I did it a long time ago. You know, reporters have researched what they could of all our backgrounds, including yours."

"And you're gullible enough to believe it?" she said with irritation, as she snapped her water closed and stowed it away.

"No, but that's all I had to go on. I still have some unanswered questions…"

He looked at her, but she was silent, staring off into the distance and shaking her head.

"Now's the moment where you're supposed to say: 'what would you like to know?' " he prodded her.

"I don't like to talk about myself." She turned to glare at him and growled, "All those tabloid stories are just trash! I still remember the headline: 'Is Raven, the Dark Mistress of the Teen Titans, Really a Succubus?' ".

"I didn't see that one," he remarked. "What is a succubus?"

"They **said** it was a female vampire spirit which…" she eyed him for a moment, debating to herself whether she really should answer this question. "Forget it."

"Cause you don't know either."

"Which comes to males at night to drain them of … certain bodily fluids." She rolled her eyes.

"Yipes, and here I am alone with you."

"Har har," she deadpanned.

"OK, so most of it is fake. But there is a Church of Azar in Gotham city, and you once said you lived there before becoming a Titan, and you have a book you call the 'Book of Azar'…"

"So?"

"So … Well, who is Azar?"

"Azar is a visionary who was born several centuries ago - you might say a prophet - who foresaw the impending danger for Trigon and the Old Ones. Azar founded a group of believers who came here from Earth and inhabited this ancient city as a defense against him. In order for Trigon to enter our world, he would have to pass through here."

"So Azar is dead now?"

"Azar is in half life."

"Half life?"

"Her body is preserved in an extremely cold chamber made of perpetually living wood. But her mind still lives, although it is very weak now, and can link with the minds of the people of Azarath."

"Creepy!" Beast Boy said without thinking, then glanced at Raven. "Uh, sorry".

He took one last drink from his half empty water bottle, and then handed it back to Raven. He decided to press on with his questions.

"So in the article I read, your mom, Arella, got mixed up in some kind of a cult that worshiped Trigon and they conjured him somehow and " Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably, but continued. "And, Arella - uh - she was, …uh, …raped by Trigon."

"She spends her days in the temple and making the pilgrimage to do penance for that." Raven had no emotion in her voice.

"What? For being raped?"

"That is more of a cover story. She gave herself willingly to him."

Beast Boy fell silent.

"She may not have fully understood who and what he was," Raven added, mostly speaking to herself. "Come on, let's go. We won't be able to get in the gate after nightfall."

They continued their long climb up the mountain, and the high protective wall loomed closer. Beast Boy could see it was elaborately carved with some kind of symbols and writing that he had seen in Raven's books. Probably protective spells, he guessed.

"You know, that note said you had 'come of age' and had to 'fulfill your family obligation' … That sure sounds like it could be for an arranged marriage…" he said.

"Then that's why I brought you."

"What? You said we weren't getting married!"

She smiled a little at the alarm in his voice. He looked at her incredulously as a new idea crossed his mind.

"You want me to pose as your boyfriend?"

"Yes, you just be yourself and act really immature. My 'prince' will be appalled at my bad judgement, and the elders will kick us both out of here."

_She **must** be joking, _he thought, although it was always hard to tell with Raven. "I always though my special ability was to turn into animals, but you're telling me that I've got a second one – acting immature!"

"Yes, and you are a master of it," she said dryly. "But try not to overdo it with me."

He chuckled a bit at that, but then thought to himself, _Every time I ask the question, she gives me a different answer…_

The sun was nearing the horizon, making their shadows long, as got close to the city. The path zigged and zagged as it wound its way to the main gate, but Raven led him off the path and they climbed up to a narrow gate in the side wall.

"When we get into Azarath, I want you to be careful. The people aren't as outgoing and friendly as I am," she said.

"Oh, joy," Beast Boy mumbled under his breath, dreading what he had got himself into.


	3. Raven's House

When they reached the base of the wall, it was apparent how high it really was. It was made of thousands of long planks of a smooth, dark wood which were interlocked together without any nails. And there were no gaps at all; the construction was perfect, like the pyramids of Egypt. It also had carvings that were a little like Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Raven led him to a high, narrow opening and they slipped in, walking sideways. After a few moments of squeezing through the tunnel, they emerged in the city of Azarath. She immediately put her hood on.

"Do you hear that sound? A humming?" she asked him.

He listened carefully. "I don't hear anything."

"Good," she replied. "Now come on, we've got to hurry."

Walking quickly, she led him down a maze of narrow streets surrounded by tall wood buildings. All were decorated with hand etched patterns, and the roofs turned upward at their corners, similar to Asian architecture. Carved gargoyles and other fantastic creatures stared down from the top of every building, and from posts in the road. In fact, the whole city looked like the strange hallucination of an architecture student who had studied European Gothic and Asian designs for many days without sleep.

At one point, they saw several hooded figures walking in the distance, and Raven quickly changed direction and led him down a different street. A mist was descending on the city and a few drops of rain started to fall. After cutting through an alley, they found themselves on a street that dead ended at a large building, with elaborate archways and spires stretching up to the darkening sky. They stopped in front of it.

"What is this place?" Beast Boy whispered.

"The House of Healing," she replied and quickly began to read pieces of parchment that had been attached to the huge door. It was in a language he didn't understand - He didn't even recognize the letters.

"What are we looking for?" he asked.

"Hush!" she commanded as she kept reading. From the expression on her face, he could tell that she wasn't finding whatever it was that she was looking for.

"Come on!" she said abruptly. "We've got to get off the street before it becomes completely dark."

Raven bolted down another twisting maze of streets and Beast Boy ran after her, trying to be ready for an attack at any moment by some unseen opponent. But none came.

They stopped at a lonely house at the edge of the city with a steep black and grey tiled roof. The corners curved upward into spires that looked like the horns of an animal. The sides were made of a reddish brown colored wood, tinted so dark it was almost black. It had a row of steps that led up to a covered porch, and they walked up.

Saying an incantation, Raven unlocked the heavy front door. It creaked as it swung open, revealing nothing but darkness within. She quickly pulled him inside with her and the thick door slammed shut behind them.

"Raven…!" he protested in alarm. He was about to transform into an owl or a bat so he could see what was there when she lit a candle.

"What is this place?" he demanded.

"This is my house."

In the dim flickering light, he could see they were in a large room. A stone fireplace stood at the opposite end, but everything else was made of different types of polished wood. There was a table and some uncomfortable looking hand carved chairs. A spider web pattern of curved beams formed the high arched ceiling. It had the musty smell of a house that has been vacant for a while.

She then walked around the room with her candle and lit several more. The windows were covered with heavy black curtains so no light could get out.

As Beast Boy looked around, he realized it resembled Raven's room in the tower. There was an antique globe in the corner, and several posts with masks symbolizing various emotions on them. And, of course, there were bookcases filled with books against every wall.

More surprisingly, there were a number of stuffed cloth figures sitting on shelves that must be dolls. And in the corner was an old wooden tricycle. Ruts in the hard wood floor hinted that it had been ridden around in here quite a bit.

"I don't suppose there is a TV anywhere?" he ventured. "Or internet access?"

"No."

The one piece of technology that he did see was a hand cranked record player sitting on a small table in the far corner. It must have been over a hundred years old.

"There is no electricity, remember?" she said.

"So what do we do now?" He sat down to rest on the closest thing he could find to a sofa, a wooden bench near the fireplace. His legs ached from all that mountain climbing.

"There is nothing we can do until morning," she replied. "No one is allowed on the streets after dark."

They both sat for a while resting and listening to the to the sound of the rain on the roof.

"It rains here every day," she remarked.

Beast Boy yawned. "I'm exhausted. I was getting ready to go to bed hours ago back in the Tower, and since then we've hiked up a mountain."

"I packed a toothbrush for you," she said and she handed him a new brush and a small tube of toothpaste.

"Somehow, I think you knew I was going to come," he said with a smile.

"And I appreciate it," she replied. "Come on, I'll show you the bathroom and where the guest room is."

As he stood up to follow her, he noticed the tricycle again and some carved wooden animals in a box. Being Beast Boy, he picked one up, a lion. "So you grew up here? These are your old toys?"

"Yes," she said, with no emotion in her voice. "I spent my childhood in this house, alone".

"Alone?"

"People stopped in a looked after me. And I had hours of training every day, to learn discipline and control my emotions".

"How can a _child_ control their emotions?" he protested.

"When I didn't control them, I had to stay in here".

"What about your mom? She didn't live her with you?"

Raven didn't answer. Instead, she led him through an archway and down a short hall.

"Arella always lived in her own house," Raven said finally, as she pointed out the bathroom. "She didn't spend a lot of time with me… probably because she wasn't allowed to."

They entered the guest room at the end of the hall.

"I guess she did sleep here sometimes, especially when I was little," Raven continued, as she lit a candle in the room. "I just remember being alone a lot."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be," she said, again with no emotion in her voice.

The room had very few furnishings. There was an antique and ornately carved cot, but with no mattress or other bedding. There was a table where the candle sat, and a tall cabinet with elaborate carvings of snakes and other reptiles on the bottom half, and birds and butterflies at the top.

"Let me see if I can at least find you a blanket and a pillow," she said. "I guess I didn't plan this very well after all. No guests have stayed in this house in years."

"I don't see how you could have lived here," Beast Boy remarked. "This place doesn't have much in it."

"I wasn't planning to ever live here again. I escaped when I was twelve, and never planned to return."

"You escaped?"

She shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I ran away and went to live with my grandmother in Gotham city. But the house is mine until I die, and by law no one else is allowed to enter it… Nor would they want to since they all know who and what I am."

He sat down on the cot. "So that's why we didn't want anyone on the street to see us? They'll try to capture you?"

Raven shook her head. "No, that's nothing. I've been back a few times over the years and nobody cares. I even store some things here. I just don't want to be bothered by anyone while I do what I need to do here."

"And that is…?"

But she turned and left, presumably to go find him his pillow and blanket. He sat and waited a while, but she didn't return so he decided to use the bathroom and brush his teeth.

When he returned to the room, Raven still wasn't back. He looked around aimlessly, then decided to see what was in the cabinet. The heavy double doors opened with a creak.

Surprisingly, its many shelves were crammed with a colorful array of modern items. There was a middle school yearbook. There was a large stuffed chicken at the bottom, the kind you might win at a carnival...It looked vaguely familiar. There was a necklace that he recognized as one of the ones that Starfire had given all of them on Blorthog Day. And there was a stack of hand bound leather books, the top one said DIARY on it.

"So _this_ is why I could never find her diary!" he mumbled aloud.

"Ahem," Raven said, clearing her throat. He whirled to see her standing in the doorway with his pillow.


	4. First Night Together

"Oh! Hi, Raven," Beast Boy said, quickly closing the cabinet doors.

"_Please _don't root around in my stuff," she said, as she locked the cabinet with her powers.

"Um…sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "So you keep some of your personal stuff here?"

"Yes, my room in the Tower is cluttered enough. And _**some people**_ occasionally like to sneak into it," she replied pointedly looking at him. "Why were you looking for my diary anyway? To embarrass me?"

He looked less sheepish and more hurt by her last statement. "No, Raven! Okay, first, I haven't snuck into your room in a long, long time. And I _never_ wanted to embarrass you."

"Why then?"

He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Okay, back when I was, like, a kid and I didn't really know you, I couldn't figure out some things you said. I mean did you hate me? Did you think I wasn't fit to be on the team? I know it was stupid, but I just wanted to know what you really thought."

She gave an exasperated sigh. "You and Cyborg went into my mirror and saw the reflection of my mind!"

"Yeah, but that gave me more questions than it answered… Anyway, I'm all over that now."

She tossed the pillow down on the bed. "So all your questions are answered?"

"I'm just past all that, you know? I mean, we're friends and team mates, but you've got your life. I've got mine." He laughed. "I don't lie in bed at night wondering what _Raven-_ or anyone else- thinks about me anymore…you know, like 'whatever', right?"

"Good!" she said firmly, but for just an instant he thought he saw a flicker of sadness cross her face. But that was crazy; it must have been a trick of candle light.

The rain came down heavily on the roof, and they heard it running off in torrents.

"Uh, where are you going to sleep?" he asked, changing the subject.

"There is another room at the other end of the house."

He frowned. "I didn't see any other room…"

"Trust me, its there. I'll see you in the morning," she said, turning to go.

"Is somebody playing a musical instrument? I mean, even with all this rain, I hear this one constant note, like A on the guitar."

Raven whirled back to face him, with an expression of alarm, but it quickly faded. "It's A-flat," she corrected him. "That's the collective Mind of Azar that I told you about. I had hoped you would be immune..."

"Wait…it's what?"

"I told you before, all the people here are telepathically linked. That sound is what you hear when the collective is trying to tune into your brainwaves. You'll have to stay in the safe room with me."

She motioned for him to grab the pillow, and she led him back to the living room.

"Can you explain this whole 'collective mind' thing again, and what it's doing?" he asked.

She sighed. "I'm too tired to get into all that tonight. It's just not a good idea to have them roaming around in your mind, and even I can't block it while I sleep. But we'll both be safe in here."

A rectangular panel had been removed from one of the side walls, and he saw a concealed room through the opening. A single candle flickered inside. The interior walls were a much lighter colored paneling than all the other rooms in the house.

"A secret room!" he murmured in amazement.

"Yes. The wood it is made of is still alive, even though the tree it came from was cut down a thousand years ago. It blocks all forms of psychic energy. I can't even use my powers in here."

Raven bent down and crawled through the opening and he followed her.

Inside was a large bed resembling the one in Raven's room at the Tower, with an overhanging top part that made it look like her hood. But this one was carved with the same ornate designs like most of the objects in Azarath. There were no windows.

She knelt down by the opening and replaced the panel with handles it had on the back.

"So you built this?" He said, holding his pillow and looking around.

"Azar ordered this built when I was child, to protect me. And I was shut in here to keep my mind from disturbing the serenity of the Collective."

She sat down on one side of the bed.

"You're my guest here," she said, "so I can't ask you to sleep on the floor. That side will be yours. I _trust_ you will stay on your own side?" She said the last part quite firmly.

"Sure," he agreed.

"And please take off your shoes."

He sat on the bed and did so, along with the gloves on his hands. He then lay down on his pillow, taking care to stay close to his edge. At least this bed had a mattress, he thought, although it was quite thin and not very comfortable. Unfortunately, there was no sheet or blanket to cover with either.

Raven took off her cloak and used it as a blanket for herself. She blew out the candle on the night table. "Good night."

"Do I get a blanket?" he asked.

"There aren't any. You'll be okay as you've got all your clothes. Now go to sleep."

Beast Boy lay there in the darkness. After a while he rolled on his back and his eyes gradually adjusted to see with the small amount of light that was coming from somewhere. It was kind of weird laying there with Raven. After a while he had to make some kind of a wisecrack.

"This is just _my_ luck," he joked softly. "I finally am lying in a bed with a beautiful girl and we're on opposite sides and fully clothed."

He expected her to groan, or tell him to be quiet or _something_, but there was no response at all. She must be asleep. Well, it was kind of a stupid thing to say. He rolled on his side, facing away from her and closed his eyes. He was just drifting off to sleep himself when he heard a small voice:

"You really think _I'm_ a beautiful girl?"

"Sure," he mumbled, matter-of-factly. He almost clarified that it wasn't a personal compliment from _him_, that many guys he had talked to thought the same about both her and Starfire, but he decided to let it go.

After a pause, he felt her cover him with the edge of her cloak.

"Yep, you're the most beautiful girl in this room," he quipped.

She yanked the extended part of her cloak back off him, and he smiled to himself. That seemed more normal. They said nothing more and were soon both asleep.

.

.

.

Hours later, Beast Boy awoke. Did he hear something? He was still in the secret room, everything was dark and quiet. He closed his eyes again.

There was the sound of a muffled sob. Was it Raven? He remained perfectly still and listened. There it was again, accompanied by some sniffling.

Raven was crying.

That was something he had never encountered before. Something he didn't even think was possible. Carefully, he turned to look. She was lying facing the wall and her shoulders were quivering.

"Raven?" he said gently.

She didn't acknowledge him. She only tried to muffle her sobs more, and without complete success.

He sat up and looked at her in the dim light. "Raven, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Come on," he said gently. "You can tell me."

"I think she might have … died."

"Arella?"

More sobs. "Yes. I think that must be why they summoned me here."

He sat there feeling very uncomfortable and awkward with her like this. What should he do? He knew Raven didn't like physical contact, but there seemed to be no choice but to put his arm around her.

"It's okay, Raven…"

"I checked at the hospital, b..but her name wasn't listed." She sat up and turned half way to him and cried harder. He put both arms around her and held her.

"So you don't really know?" he said after a while.

"No…I'll find out in the morning."

"I'm so sorry, Raven," he whispered. "Whatever happens, we'll get though it. I'm here and I'll help you in any way that I can."

He held her for a long time. Finally she calmed down and they settled into a laying position, with her head on his chest. He still had one arm around her.

"This is why I wanted you here with me," she murmured. "I knew you could understand."

He gently stroked her hair in a soothing fashion and they both were quiet. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but after a while he noticed another tear silently rolling down her cheek. He brushed it away with his finger tip.

"You're sweet," she whispered. Then she closed her eyes and settled herself to go back to sleep.

Without thinking about it, he kissed the top of her head, probably the way his mother had kissed him goodnight as a child. He then rested his head back into the pillow and closed his eyes.

In a moment, Raven raised her head and crawled toward him. As he opened his eyes, her face was right in front of his, her hair dangling down over him. And as he tried to figure out what was happening, her mouth found his and she was kissing him. Passionately kissing him.

He was in shock at first, but once he recovered, he began to kiss her back. Then just as suddenly, and without a word, she disengaged and rolled over to face the other way on her own pillow.

Beast Boy lay there a long time, trying to process what had just happened. Should he say something? Should he attempt to initiate it again? Maybe she just wasn't herself due to all the stress and overflowing emotions?

As his mind churned on this, he heard her softly snoring. Exhaustion eventually overwhelmed him too, and he slept.

.

.

.

Many hours later, he awoke again. It was morning. The entrance to the room was open and Raven was gone.


	5. Pavane for a Dead Princess

Beast Boy crawled out of the opening to the secret room and looked around.

"Raven?" he called. "Raven?"

The house was silent. Silent and spooky.

A little light spilled in from around the edge of one of the heavy window curtains, confirming that it was daytime outside. He walked to a side window and pulled the curtains open so the house wouldn't be so dark. Outside the sky was overcast, and fog drifted down over the roofs of the adjacent buildings. Water from the recent rain still dripped off the eves.

He searched the house calling her name, but she was gone.

"Great," he mumbled. "What am I supposed to do now?"

He walked over to the heavy front door to go out and look for her, when he saw a note stuck to it. It was in Raven's gothic handwriting:

_Beast Boy, _

_please stay here until I return._

He sighed, and decided to see if he could find something to eat. Last night there had been that humming sound, which Raven had said what said was some kind of a 'collective mind' - whatever that was - but now all he heard was silence.

He went through every cupboard in the tiny kitchen, but there was no food at all. There wasn't even any plates or glasses. There was water available in the sink, but the fixture was so old fashioned that you had to pump a lever to get it to flow. He leaned his face into the sink and drank some as it came out.

Wiping off his mouth with his sleeve, he went back into the living room. There was a box on the table that he hadn't noticed earlier. It was Tofurky - a delicious turkey substitute, the box said. Raven must have left this for him.

He had no way to heat it up - certainly no microwave here! - but it was thawed, so he just ate it out of the box. He thought about the situation he found himself in.

Raven was really a mystery. She said she needed him to come with her, then she just disappeared. And what had happened last night?

He felt sad about Raven's mother, and hoped that her conclusion wasn't correct. He also thought about Raven's kiss - that was really confusing. What did it mean? That she had feelings for him? Given their history and the way she usually talked to him, that made no sense… It must have just been the emotional strain. She just did a strange thing to thank him. She couldn't say with words that she appreciated his comfort, so she did that.

It **was** the most likely explanation, but oddly, it didn't make him feel better. Was he disappointed? Was that it? He shoved the empty food box across the table and it fell on the floor.

"I don't care. I'm _not_ picking it up," he muttered.

In the _past_, he did have sort of a crush on her, okay? He admitted that to himself. And he had tried and tried to get some kind of acknowledgment from her, some sign that she felt anything remotely similar. All he had ever gotten was the door to her room shut in his face, or some kind of a sarcastic comment when the team was together. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true, but close enough.

But now, he had moved on. And it felt good. He had the whole world in front of him. Yes, she was his friend and his teammate. But he didn't need her stirring up all those old feelings again. No reason at all to let her do that.

Did she even want to do that?

Of course, there was one way he could find out…Her diary was in the other room. Old questions could finally be answered: How did she really feel about him?

Before fully thinking this through, he got up and walked into the back room. He stared at the cabinet. His hand reached out and pulled on the door, but it was still locked.

That wasn't enough to stop him. He was Beast Boy, after all. He could rip the door off its hinges. Or, even better, he could become a tiny insect and slip in through a crack and then figure out how to release the lock mechanism.

A small voice inside his head spoke to him, _You really shouldn't do it_.

"Shut up," he said out loud.

But the voice was right. Raven was off dealing with potentially a terrible personal tragedy, and he was going to violate her privacy. Did he really want to be that kind of person?

Defeated by his own conscience, he wandered back out into the living room. He saw the antique record player and went over to it. Maybe a little music would brighten the mood.

There was a dusty stack of records, and he looked at the first one. _Clair de Lune_ by C. Debussy.

"Sounds like an expensive French restaurant back home," he mumbled.

He kept looking though the stack. There was _Piano Sonata No. 2 in Bb minor. Funeral March _by F. Chopin. And there was _Pavane for a Dead Princess _by M. Ravel.

"What kind of a kid listens to this stuff?"

He put the last record on the turn table, and after a little experimenting, he got it to play by cranking the handle to wind up a mechanism. Soon a hauntingly beautiful and sad melody filled the room.

As it played, he walked around. He tried to sit on Raven's tricycle, but he was too big. He picked up some of her old dolls, and noticed how worn and threadbare they were. She must have played with them a lot while being stuck in here, though it was hard to picture her ever playing with dolls.

He pulled some books out of one of the bookcases, and noticed a word had been scratched into the shelf: _ALONE_.

Most of the books were in the same incomprehensible language; the letters weren't even in the English alphabet. For example:

प्राचीन लोगों की बुद्धि

He did find a work book of mostly blank pages; at the beginning was a child's handwriting trying to work out math problems. One page said

_4 x 13 = 52_

"Looks like you got that one wrong, Raven," he remarked and started to work it out for himself. Dang, she was right after all.

He put the books back and went over to the window. Still just fog outside, and he couldn't see around to the front of the house. He did notice more words carved in the windowsill, this time in neat gothic handwriting:

_The rain in Azarath is my tears _

There was something else, written very small in the corner. He bent down to read it:

_Why go on living?_

Wow. A wave of sadness came over him as he realized just how unhappy she must have been here as a child. And living with the notion that she was going to be responsible for the end of the world. But then he noticed something else even smaller written below it

_HOPE_

He sat down on the floor for a moment, taking it all in. He remembered something Robin had once said, that Raven was the most hopeful person that he knew.

"I should have been more understanding toward her," he whispered to himself. "All those times I got mad at her … I didn't really know what she was dealing with…"

The record finished playing, and was making a clicking sound as the needle hit the end each time it went around. He moved it back to the starting position and the music started once more.

He decided to at least look out the front door and see if she was anywhere in sight. But it didn't open, no matter how hard he pulled. It was locked somehow. Was she keeping him a prisoner in here? He grumbled a bit, but still remembered his idea to not get too mad at her.

Pulling back the curtain to one of the front windows, he saw several figures walking past, shrouded in robes. Two of them turned to look at the house when he made the opening in the curtain, so he quickly shut it. Were they just passing by, or were they watching the house?

He peeked out again a few moments later, but they were not in sight. He didn't want to make the opening big enough to really get a good look, and tip them off that he knew they were there.

With nothing else to do, he sat down on the bench-like sofa and resigned himself to wait. The box of carved animals was within reach, so he pulled it over and took some out. There was the majestic lion he had seen last night. There was an African elephant, and a rhinoceros. They were very skillfully crafted, someone had spend a lot of time carving these. Probably because there was nothing else to do in this town.

He set all the animals out on what passed for a coffee table, although the giraffe was not able to stand because someone had been chewed off one of its legs. Young Raven must have played with these a lot, too. He smiled. It was nice that Raven liked animals.

He pretended that he was a kid and played with the animals a bit, but found his eyelids growing heavy. Certainly a little nap wouldn't hurt anything. After a while, he had the curious taste in his mouth of eating an orange.

"Beast Boy," a woman's voice said.

"Huh? Raven?" he opened his eyes.

But Raven wasn't there. Instead, he noticed the lion was looking at him. And now it had an elderly woman's face superimposed on it. She had long silver hair, and a gentle expression. But her piercing eyes seemed to look right into his soul.

"You are not from here," she said. "You are not a brother or sister of Azarath."

"Um ... no," he replied.

"That is why I can speak to your mind, but only for a moment. You must leave this place. Go quickly while you still can!" The image began to fade.

"Just me, or Raven too?"

The image tried to say one last thing, but it was fading fast. "Go..!" is what he thought he heard, but it could have been the word "Both..." with the last part cut off.

Then he opened his eyes. He had been dreaming. The lion was right where he had left it.

The sound of the front door creaking open startled him and he turned to look. A hooded figure stood there.

"Raven!" he cried.

She stepped in and closed the door. Then took off her hood. She always tried to keep her face emotionless, but he could tell she was happy about something.

"Get yourself ready," she said in her usual monotone. "We are going to have tea with Arella in one hour."


	6. Afternoon Tea, part 1

"So she's all right?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "That's great!"

Raven nodded. She had a bundle under her arm, and she walked over and tossed it to him. It was a folded up dark brown cloak.

"You can wear this so you don't attract attention," she said. She rubbed her temples. "I've got a really bad headache. All I can hear is that humming. I've got to relax for a while and meditate."

She crawled through the entrance to the secret room and replaced the panel behind her. He noticed there was no seam; it was impossible to tell there was an entrance there at all.

It would have been nice to have talked to her a little more, but it was pointless to try to engage her now. He tried on the cloak, pulling the hood over his head. It fit, but it dragged on the floor a little as he walked around.

He looked like a fool - that was obvious. He walked around to try to find a mirror and see how much of a fool, but there was no mirror anywhere in this house. He took the cloak off and sat down.

The lion was still there on the coffee table. Had it really spoken to him, or had that been a dream? He watched it carefully for any suspicious behavior, but nothing happened. Through the side window, he could see the mist was lifting and a few weak rays of sunlight shone in. He passed the time thumbing though a few more of Raven's books.

After what seemed like an eternity, Raven emerged. She looked much more relaxed.

"Are you ready?" she asked. "I see you didn't comb your hair."

"I look fine," he replied. "Besides I'm going to be wearing this cloak."

She sighed. He patted and adjusted his spiky greenish brown hair a few times to pacify her, then smiled and put the cloak on.

She opened the door and they walked out together. The street was deserted, and they put their hoods on and started walking down it.

"Could you tell me a little more about this Collective Mind thing?" he finally asked, breaking the silence.

"The people who live in Azarath all have their minds connected together telepathically, originally all linked to Azar, but now mostly just linked together with the Elders and the High Priest."

"Why?" Beast Boy asked. "To control them?"

"No," she replied. "Although I suppose that might be possible, but its never done. The idea is to form a perfectly peaceful and harmonious society. Then the collective energy can be focused to block Trigon."

He looked at her blankly.

"You know that is the purpose of Azarath, right?" she said. "This dimension is in the center. Trigon can't enter our world without passing through here, and he can't pass through as long as the brothers and sisters of Azarath are blocking him." She paused for a moment and looked down. "Except, of course, through me."

"But I though you destroyed him?"

"I pushed him back, but I can't destroy him. And he will always be trying to return."

The road they were walking on led up a small hill, and they could see a pagoda at the top. When Raven noticed it, she led them down another street to detour around it.

"What was that?" he asked. "It looked interesting."

"I have bad memories of that place," she replied. "I don't go near it. Anyway, we're almost to Arella's house."

"So she sent you that message to come here?"

Raven shrugged. "I guess she must have."

"It seems weird though. What was all that about 'fulfilling your family obligation'? Why didn't she just say, '_Dear Raven, Please come visit me. Love, Mom'_"

Raven burst out laughing, startling Beast Boy. She laughed hard.

"I wasn't making a joke," he noted.

"I know - your jokes aren't funny," she said, wiping her eyes. "You just don't know Arella. She would never say anything like that."

"Why not?"

She noticed how serious his expression was, and sighed.

"We're not exactly close," she said.

"Why not?" he repeated. "I'd give anything to see my mom again."

"Arella doesn't exactly approve of my lifestyle… She thinks that I have become undisciplined and have loose morals."

"What?!" Now it was his turn to burst out laughing. "Oh yeah, you're really a loose party girl!"

Raven glared at him and growled under her breath. _Why do I tell him these things?_

He was still intermittently chuckling when they approached an odd looking house alone at the end of the road. In contrast to the other houses, it had colorful wind chimes hanging from the front porch and plants growing in the yard. The ground was solid rock, but there were wooden boxes filled with dirt and from which grew many types of fruits and vegetables.

Raven knocked on the door. "Arella? We are here."

The door opened to reveal a woman dressed much like Raven with a blue cloak and a dark colored leotard. Her face had many of the same features as Raven's as well, except her eyes were green and she was obviously a bit older. She wore a collection of necklaces made with beads and crystals, and many jangling metal bracelets on her wrists. Her dark hair was long and flowing, although a little unruly, and streaked with strands of grey.

"Come in! Come in!" she cried. "And I see you have brought a guest."

"Yes, this is Beast Boy, my teammate. I told you about him earlier this morning, remember?"

"Oh, yes, yes. Do come in, Mr. Boy. It's so nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs…um…." he paused, realizing he couldn't remember Raven's last name, and wasn't entirely sure that she had one. "It's nice to meet you too, ma'am."

She led them down a hallway and into a large room with a rectangular table. Light streamed in from windows on all sides. Strange paintings hung on all the walls, some hanging crooked, and Beast Boy realized that she had painted them herself when he saw an easel and brushes in one corner of the room.

Raven pulled out a chair for her, and Arella sat down at the head of the table. Then Beast Boy and Raven sat in the two remaining chairs, across from each other. The two Titans removed their hoods and Arella peered at him to get a closer look.

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed softly as she noticed his green skin and pointed ears. And his fang. Her face became deathly serious.

"Young man, are you a … demon?" she asked fearfully.

_Oh, no ma'am_. That is what he was going to say. What he should say. But her question was so ridiculous and her expression was so serious that he just couldn't take it.

"Bwhaaahahahah!" he exclaimed, bursting into a throaty evil laugh that was completely over-the-top.

Arella jolted back, stunned. Raven face palmed in embarrassment. Beast Boy's eyes sparkled.

Arella stared at him in silence for a moment, and then a small smile crept across her face.

"Well, demons don't have a sense of humor," she said. "Daughter, the tea should be ready now. Would you fetch it, please?"


	7. Afternoon Tea, part 2

With a quick glare at Beast Boy that said _behave yourself or else_, Raven dutifully got up and walked down another hallway to the kitchen in the back of the house.

"So you are part of this 'team' that my daughter is on?" Arella asked him, smiling pleasantly.

"Yes, Ma'am – people call it the Teen Titans. We protect our city from crime, and you know, help people…"

"I see…" Arella seemed to become distracted by something in her mind and stared off into space for a moment.

Beast Boy glanced around the room and looked at the paintings on the walls. While mostly a surrealistic swirl of colors, one looked like a black dragon shape breathing strands of fire. Another looked like rain falling in the form of flowers. A large canvas behind the empty chair where Raven sat seemed to depict a white robed figure descending from the sky, with the robe billowing out like an angel's wings.

Raven entered with three empty tea cups and saucers and set one before each of them. Arella smiled at her and she silently returned to the kitchen to get the tea pot.

He smiled to himself as he had never seen Raven wait on anyone before. He was quite sure if he instructed her to get him a can of soda out of the refrigerator back home she would probably say 'bite me'.

That painting seemed oddly familiar, though. It was almost like what Raven had looked like after she had vanquished Trigon and was settling back to earth again…

"Um, is that Raven?" he asked.

"Why, yes," she said, her focus coming back to the present. "I'm so glad you noticed."

"But … you weren't there," he said with a puzzled frown.

"I paint the things that I see," she explained. "Either in my own dreams or through the collective mind of all the people of Azarath."

Raven returned with what looked like an ancient ceramic tea pot and poured the lightly steaming brew into each of their cups. Then she took her seat.

"How have you been feeling? You haven't been sick or anything, have you?" Raven asked her mother.

"No, I've been fine," she replied as she took a sip of tea. "Just doing my usual things, you know, going to the temple and making the pilgrimage once a month."

Beast Boy lifted his cup to his mouth, and noticed it was that horrible tea that Raven always drank. He pretended to take a sip, while noticing the painting on the wall in the corner behind Arella. It looked like … well, it was hard to tell, but to him it looked like a nude older woman being caressed by two muscular young men. He forced himself to take a gulp of the tea so that he wouldn't smile.

"So nothing out of the ordinary?" Raven continued.

"No, child."

"We thought that maybe you had sent Raven a note, asking her to come," he said.

"I didn't send any note. Everything is fine here ... I don't believe Raven would come even if I did," she added.

"Arella! Yes, I would," Raven protested.

"You left and went to earth to live with my mother. You wanted to be with _normal_ children your age, you said."

"Are we back on this again?" Raven grumbled in her signature monotone. "You know I couldn't take it here, and you would never have given me permission, so I just left."

"You don't even visit."

"You don't visit me!"

"Mmmm, this sure is good tea!" Beast Boy exclaimed, taking another sip and trying not to make a grimace.

"I came to see you at my mother's house and you were behaving very inappropriately. That world is full of corrupting influences."

"I was fourteen and you came in my room without knocking…!"

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked, now quite interested.

"Daughter, I just don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did. Living as a single woman in that tower with all those boys. I don't want you to get caught up in a lifestyle of pleasures and _sensuality_."

Beast Boy had to fight back a chuckle with another drink of tea. That was kind of humorous coming from the woman who had made that kinky painting on the wall.

"You don't have to worry," he said. "Raven is very straight laced. She mostly just stays in her room…"

He felt a sharp kick in his shin from under the table, and glared at Raven. "What was that for?"

Arella continued with seeming to notice, "I just think it would be much better for you, and you could avoid trouble if you were safely married."

"Don't you think I'm a little _young_ to get married?" she growled.

"Perhaps, but what is the alternative? You could find a nice man among the brotherhood and live here where you would be safe. I've spoken to the elders and the high priest about it many times…"

"We're leaving today, before nightfall," she pointedly said to Beast Boy.

"Well, it won't be today," Arella pointed out. "I heard in the temple this morning that the city is to be sealed for at least a day. Something is about to happen." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I fear a confluence of demons! We may have to make the sacrifice…"

"You always fear a confluence of demons…" Raven said, rolling her eyes.

"And you never pay any attention to the things that I say," Arella countered. "Even though I only want what's best for you."

"I'd like to know more about this thing Raven was doing when you visited her," Beast Boy interjected to change the subject. "You know, just to try to wrap my head around what these influences could be."

Raven's eyes shot daggers at him, but he avoided looking at her. Arella seemed only too happy to change to that subject.

"Well, I was visiting my mother and my daughter back on earth and she had been going to a regular school for I think a year and a half…or maybe it was two…"

"Go on," Beast Boy encouraged her when it seemed she was about to get distracted again. Raven rested her head on her hands on the table, waiting for this story to be over.

"Anyway, I went to her bedroom to wish her a goodnight and I caught her singing into her hair brush and dancing inappropriately."

"Inappropriately?" he asked with his eyes wide.

"Arella…!" Raven said as a blush grew across her face.

"She was wiggling her hips and … she was only wearing her underwear!" Arella sighed and looked off into space again "It's that music, you know..."

"Oh, my!" he said, clamping his teeth together in an attempt to keep from laughing. A tear streamed down his cheek. "Tell me more."

He noticed a slight black aura forming around his tea cup and it began to move across the table as if to dump in his lap. He quickly grabbed it with both hands and noticed Raven discretely using her powers.

"Daughter, you will not use the power of Scath in my house! It is evil!"

"Well, don't embarrass me then," she insisted.

"Evil?" Beast Boy asked, surprised.

"Yes, of course. Her power comes from his domain."

"But she uses her power to do good!" he protested. Then, remembering the tea, he shot a glance at Raven. "...Mostly," he whispered at her.

"I certainly hope so. Anyway, it is forbidden within Azarath. Here we have complete nonviolence, the Perfect Order."

Arella expounded at length about how good life was in Azarath, and that there was always new people coming in rotation, not just from earth but from other worlds as well.

They finished the pot of tea, although Beast Boy nursed the one cup the whole time. Without being told, Raven collected the cups and took them into the kitchen to wash them.

"You have stuck up for Raven several times. I'm glad my daughter is involved with someone as loyal as you, even if your aren't of the brotherhood."

"Um, we're not really … _involved_…" he clarified.

"Oh, I see…" Arella paused thoughtfully, "Well, I'll speak to her about that…"

"Probably not a good idea..." he cautioned.

"Oh, I know," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "I'll forbid her from seeing you!"

Before he could reply, Arella got up and headed down into the kitchen. He heard whispers, which seemed to turn into an argument, and then an indignant sigh that must have come from Raven.

"I don't like him in that way _**at all**_," he heard her growl.

There were further whispers which he couldn't make out, but they seemed more conciliatory.

She returned to the dining room, with her mother following behind.

"It's time for us to leave," she announced to Beast Boy.

"It was very nice to meet you," he said as he shook Arella's hand. He headed toward the door as Arella and Raven stood awkwardly in front of each other. Finally he just had to say something.

"Well, um, Raven, when you're done giving your mom a hug I guess we'll be on our way."

Raven rolled her eyes, but now that the suggestion was made, they both stiffly embraced and it lasted longer than he would have expected.

When they were out in the street, he eyed her warily, unsure of what kind of a mood she would be in.

"Well, that visit went well," he ventured.

She said nothing, only stared at him. But she seemed to be happy, as he could see a little smile.

* * *

_[Author's note:_

_I hope you are enjoying the story so far, and I hope this chapter didn't have too many mistakes, as I wrote it late at night! We're just starting to get to the meat of the story...in the next chapter, I think we get a little action and the mystery gets deeper._


	8. An Argument Goes Awry

The narrow street outside Arella's house was paved with stone blocks, all fitting together like a fantastic jigsaw puzzle. Raven and Beast Boy put their hoods up and began the walk back in silence. From her body language, and light step, she seemed to be in a pretty good mood. Beast Boy, however, had some thoughts gnawing away in the back of his mind, and he looked down at the patterns of stone.

_I don't like him in that way _**_at all_**. He could still hear the echo of that.

_Well, good_! He thought. _I'm glad she feels that way. I've been over her for a long time, and the last think I want is for things to get weird. Like last night…_

But he pushed those thoughts away, and was about to start on the next topic that was concerning him when Raven spoke.

"It seems that Arella likes you," she deadpanned. "Don't ask me why."

"What can I say? The kid has got charm. But - what did she mean about this convergence of demons and the city being sealed and some kind of a sacrifice?"

"It's no big deal - that kind of thing happens a lot around here. We can just ask for permission and leave. Arella's house is near the city wall," she said, pointing to it. "Demons howl at night in the mist outside, and it goes to her head."

"What about this 'sacrifice'?"

Raven shrugged. "When she uses the term it just means a penance."

"Good. I had visions of a handsome green heartthrob being thrown into the volcano." He pointed to the smoke rising from the top of the mountain.

"Traditionally, that is only for virgins." There was a playful quirk in her otherwise monotone voice. "Are you a virgin?"

"Um, no comment."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," she said. "You'd better be careful then."

Three monks in brown robes were walking down the cobblestone street toward them. Raven didn't seem to care, but Beast Boy eyed them carefully. They stared only at Raven, and they gave her plenty of space as they passed, as if she had a disease or something.

Suddenly, Raven gasped, realizing she had made a mistake. They had been talking, and walked the direct way home, up the hill to the structure that she had detoured around when they were going to her mother's house.

To Beast Boy, it looked like the usual Asian-like architecture of Azarath, only the polished wood was all black. Just a circular platform in the center of the road with eight tall posts holding up a roof which curved up at each corner into animal horns. On top of the roof were eight more posts, which held up a similar smaller roof, and then one additional even smaller roof on top of that.

"I hate this place," she whispered as she walked on the edge of the plaza to avoid going through it.

"Why? Did something happen here?"

"You know I'm dangerous because I can bring Trigon across the dimensional barrier into this world. Well, when I was an infant, certain people thought it was too risky to allow me to live. Azar overruled them, of course."

"That's good," he said.

"Anway, I think this is the place where my life would have been ended. When I was a child I had dreams, maybe visions, of an infant that looked like me being put into a wooden box by a thin man in black robes…"

"Damn … I'm sorry, Raven" He put his arm around her and they started down the hill on the other side. She accepted his gesture without comment, but after a while the thought came to his mind again.

_I don't like him in that way _**_at all_**.

He again pushed it away, telling himself that she probably just said that in that way because she didn't want her mother prying into her personal business. Still, he started to feel a little foolish with his arm around her and he gently let it slip off.

"You know," he said, changing the subject, "if your mother didn't send that note, and it isn't some kind of an arranged marriage, then what is it?"

"I don't know and I no longer care," she stated flatly.

As they continued walking, they entered into an area with buildings that had their large double doors open. Inside were people seated on flat cushions on the floor. All were working on various crafts, such a weaving rugs or carving statues from blocks of wood. They were completely absorbed in their tasks and didn't look up as the two walked past. Some were not human, but were other races that the Titans had encountered in their voyages into space.

"Azarath is open to enlightened members of any species or religion who know of the threat of Trigon and those like him," she said before he had to ask. "They just have to be able to live in harmony and be part of the collective Mind of Azar."

"Look how they move. Are they drugged?" he wondered.

"It's an exercise in meditation. They are single mindedly focused on their tasks and their minds are empty of all thoughts."

"Oh, kind of like when I play video games!"

"Uh … yeah." She rolled her eyes.

There were faces and creatures carved into all the posts, and Beast Boy noticed a lion, which reminded him of something.

"You know, back at that bad place you mentioned having a vision," he said. "Well, before you came back to your house today I had something that was maybe like that. One of your toy animals turned into an old woman with these staring eyes and wild silver hair and…"

He stopped as he noticed that this was upsetting her. She turned to stare at him.

"Azar? You saw **Azar**?"

"Um, I guess. Anyway-"

"Why would she appear to you and not to me? I've tried and tried to see her. She was my mentor. She loved me when I was little…" It sounded like she was going to cry.

"I don't know, Raven. Hey, it's okay…"

He instinctively again went to put his arm around her, but this time she rejected it. "We're going to go to the Moratorium and I'm going to see her no matter how long it takes."

"I thought we were going to get out of here?"

"We can leave tomorrow. Don't you want to stay with me until this is finished?"

"Um … I guess. It's just that this place is a little weird to an outsider, and you don't seem to need me since Arella is okay. Do you **_want _**me to stay another night with you?"

"Fine. You can go whenever you wish."

Because:_ I don't like you in that way _**_at all_**. That is what he heard, but not what she meant.

He decided to bring the subject into the open.

"You know, about last night…" he began.

"I just was dealing with a lot of issues," she said quickly and kept walking.

Although they weren't paying attention, they were walking past a building with no walls, only a roof supported by posts. Inside was a group of about twenty monks sitting in a circle and deep in meditation with their eyes closed.

"Yeah ... Um, but that kissing part kind of confused me," he continued.

"Uh, I'm sorry…it was an accident." A blush was forming on her cheeks, but he didn't notice.

"An accident? Of course, I knew that." Sarcasm came out in his voice, which was unusual for him.

"Beast Boy, what are you getting at? I said I'm sorry about it, okay?"

"I'm just saying, I know that what it was. You don't have any feelings."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean I don't have any feelings?"

"You've always said emotions are pointless. So I **knew** that when you kissed me, you felt nothing."

She frowned at his confrontational tone. "Many emotions are pointless ... But I grew up in this place being taught to suppress all my strong emotions – because, yes, some **are** dangerous – and after years I've finally grown past that. I'm a normal human being." Then she growled, "Don't _**you**_ tell me what _**I **_think."

Many of the monks had now opened their eyes and were staring the the source of these loud voices.

"I've spent a lot of years with you, and I know to someone like you I am just a goofy, immature guy who is occasionally useful when you are upset," he replied.

That stung. "You should shut your mouth. You don't even know what you're talking about." Water wanted to come out of one of her eyes, but she fought it back.

"Oh, really?" he raised his voice another notch. "I've hung on your every word for years and I've spent a lot of sleepless nights thinking about you. I know exactly what is in your head."

"You don't think that I can see deeper than that?" she shouted back at him. "You don't think that **I've** laid awake in my bed at night thinking about a guy who can sometimes be an immature jerk—**like now** \- but who also can be the sweetest, most caring guy I've ever met? Who I could maybe, someday, risk opening up my heart to…"

"You think I'm a jerk? Well, let me tell you something…!"

He paused. Confusion replaced the anger in his voice. "Wait… back up a minute. What did you just say?"

"No, what did _you_ just say?" she asked with her eyes wide.

Then they noticed the entire group of robed monks had congregated around them while they were distracted by their argument.

"Friends, why is there all this discord? This is not allowed. It is against the perfect order," one of them said.

Surrounded, and unsure of what was about to happen, Beast Boy threw off his hood and prepared for battle.


	9. Getting Into Trouble

All twenty monks stood in circle around them. Some began chanting. Beast Boys eyes darted around as he tried to see what each of them was doing, and who was going to make the first move. He felt a tyrannosaurus rex wanting to come out.

"Beast Boy," Raven said firmly, "It is all right."

Then she took a deep breath and relaxed as she exhaled. She put her hands together and bowed to the monk who had spoken.

"We are sorry. It was a momentary lapse of reason. Please, carry on."

The man removed his hood, revealing neatly combed grey hair and a serene face. "Raven, daughter of Arella? Can it be you?" He smiled.

"Samendra!" She smiled also, but took care to keep her voice even.

"We did not know you had returned. Have you not joined in the Collective?"

"No, my Teacher. I am here just for one day to see Arella, and did not wish to attract attention."

"You are always most welcome here, child. And you have a guest?"

"This is my companion from the outer worlds. His name is, uh, 'Beast Boy'"

"Um … Hi," Beast Boy said, relaxing and letting the tyrannosaurus go back to sleep.

Samendra bowed to him, as did all the other monks in the circle. Beast Boy awkwardly bowed in return.

"We were going to the moratorium so I may speak with Azar, then we were returning home," Raven explained.

"My child, of course you know that one cannot see Azar without a spirit of great tranquility. Please, join us." He walked toward the eight steps that led up to the platform that he and the other monks had been sitting on.

Seeing that there was no graceful way to decline, Raven followed him. Cautiously, Beast Boy followed her and the rest of the monks came behind him. From the arched ceiling hung thousands of strands of crystal beads, each a different length, and they swayed in the gentle breeze. The wood floor had a huge, tan colored circular mat and on it was a pattern of dark red snakes. Each snake held the tail of the next snake in its mouth and they made a symmetric pattern – a vast, tangled knot with no beginning and no end.

Raven and Samendra quickly crossed to one end of the mat and were engrossed in a whispered conversation. Beast Boy hesitated as he looked around, and was unsure if he should step on the mat or walk around. A group of three monks gracefully cut him off from getting to Raven.

Perhaps monks was not the right term, at least in the Western sense, as one removed her hood and revealed a dark skinned female with long black hair. She looked about ten years older than Raven, and had a purple jewel on her forehead Ajna chakra instead of the red one Raven had.

"I am Vasantha," she said in a friendly voice. "Please, sit." She indicated for him to sit on the opposite side of the mat from Raven and he did so.

"Um, what are we going to do?" he asked.

"We must meditate. Have you ever meditated before?"

"No … but I've seen Raven do it a bunch of times."

All the monks removed their hoods and reformed the circle that they had been sitting in before, now larger as it contained the two Titans. Everyone, except Beast Boy, folded their legs into the lotus position.

"Ow … I don't think my legs bend that way," he said to Vasantha, who sat next to him.

She smiled. "The exact way to sit is not important. I want you just to think about your breathing."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "My breathing?"

"Yes, close your eyes. Let your body relax. Think only of the air flowing in through your nostrils and then out again. Don't try to make it happen, just let it happen and you observe."

Everyone else was closing their eyes, so he did so also. He recalled that Raven had told him something similar to this years ago, but he gave up after five minutes because it was boring. Unfortunately, he couldn't just get up now and go watch TV. He decided to give it his best shot.

After about five or six breaths he peeked one eye open and saw Vasantha was watching him. He quickly closed his eye again.

"The mind can be like a barrel full of monkeys," she said gently. "Each time you find yourself distracted, merely direct your attention back to your breathing. In time, you will be able to tell the difference in temperature between the air going in and that flowing out."

He considered turning into a monkey, just to see what she would say to that, but decided against it. He focused on his breathing for a long time, and he did begin to feel quite relaxed. Sleepy, in fact. He heard her gentle voice again.

"If thoughts come in your mind, just let them go out of your body with your breath."

He thought about breathing in, and breathing out. Breathing in and breathing out. Then a thought came that he did not try to push away.

What had just happened a few minutes ago with Raven? They were arguing, and he wasn't sure what started it. But then something happened…something slipped out. What exactly had she said? You're a jerk, but a sweet guy? Then something about risking opening her heart…to him? Did he hear that right?

He thought about his breathing and he thought about the conversation with Raven for a long time, trying to fill in the gaps in his memory. He needed to get her alone so he could ask her more about that.

There was the sound of people stirring and he opened his eyes. Everyone was getting up.

"How long did we do that for?" he asked Vasantha. "A couple hours?"

"Fifteen minutes." she replied.

Raven and Samendra were walking back to the steps where they had came in, and this time Beast Boy stepped quickly and got behind them in the procession of monks. He heard part of what they were saying.

"…I have noticed a disturbance in the collective mind," Samendra was saying. "Something has changed, but we do not know what. The guiding voice of Azar grows silent…"

"I was told her consciousness could be preserved for at least another hundred years," Raven replied. "I must commune with her."

"One never knows," he replied sadly. "Perhaps her time has finally come. Still we are ever vigilant against the threat of Trigon."

"Ever vigilant against … him," agreed another monk, although he seemed fearful to say the name. "We already have the teachings to know how to defend our world."

"Uh, Raven, what are we doing now?" Beast Boy interrupted, but in a quiet voice.

"We are going to enter the place where Azar's body lies," she replied. "So that I may speak with her."

_That sure sounds creepy_, Beast Boy thought, but wisely didn't say out loud_._

"We shall accompany you, at least part of the way," Samendra said. "To preserve the spirit of tranquility."

"We are most grateful," Raven said. "But all is fine now. You don't need to disrupt your routine on our account."

Samendra and the group of monks continued walking with them, with the ones in the rear chanting, until the destination was in sight. Then, satisfied that the Titans were sufficiently tranquil, he said goodbye with a bow and the group left.

In the background stood the huge temple, which they had seen from outside the city. It was a tall, oval shaped structure with a roof that had a central spire and then it sloped downward to eight corners, where it curved up again and narrowed into sharp horns that pointed at the sky.

But Raven was interested in a much smaller building in the foreground. It was merely a dome coming out of the ground, and like everything else here, made entirely of smooth dark wood with elaborate carved patterns. There were others like it in the distance, but Raven cared about only this one.

As they got closer, they could see fog coming out of the ground at the base of it and making a low hanging mist, the way that dry ice does. Several short hooded figures in dark red robes where milling around near it, but Raven seemed unconcerned. On the dome they could see the inscription:

यहाँ हम वह मौत के दायरे से परे है भले ही साथ बात करेगा जिसे एक के शरीर झूठ

"What does it say?" Beast Boy whispered.

"It's a form of Sanskrit," she replied. "That part says 'Beyond the Realms of Death'."

As they walked around the dome, they saw an arched entrance and steps that led down into darkness.

Raven turned to Beast Boy, "You wait here."

When she turned back, one of the robed figures had stepped directly in front of her, blocking her path.

"Stop!" the figure ordered Raven. "The Unclean One may not enter."

Raven was taken by surprise and stopped in her tracks. The figure utterly ignored Beast Boy and stared only at Raven.

"You carry the stain of Scath," it hissed in a female voice. Two of the other figures also approached.

"Hey, what's your deal?" Beast Boy snapped, but the figure continued to ignore him.

"Hey!" he yelled and grabbed the figure's shoulder to turn her to face him.

"Don't touch her!" Raven warned, but too late.

He saw a young girl's face under the hood. Her eyes locked with his and then glowed yellow. Suddenly he heard the humming sound that he had heard the other night, but it became a thousand times louder.

He tried to look away, but every muscle was paralyzed. He tried to transform in something – anything – but he could not. The sound was excruciating and his brain felt like it was being pierced by daggers.

With a mind of their own, his muscles made him drop to his knees before the girl and lower his face to the ground in utter submission. Oddly, he could see scenes from his life flashing before his eyes.

The eyes of the other two figures were also glowing from behind their hoods and they moved toward him.

"Stop it!" Raven shouted. She instinctively conjured a sphere of dark energy around him as a shield, but she quickly realized this would not block what they were doing. She expanded the sphere and it swept into the figures and knocked them back to the ground.

She bent down next to Beast Boy, who was released from their control and held his aching head with both hands. "Are you all right?" she asked, as she began to help him up.

"What was that?" he groaned.

"You shouldn't have interfered," she said. But, as he was her teammate and a veteran of many battles together, she quickly told him, "Don't **ever** look into the eyes. And if you rapidly transform, they probably can't get a lock on you."

The figures began to get up again, and some monks who had been in the general area came running over. Raven summoned an aura of dark energy around her hands, but she knew the best plan was to teleport herself and Beast Boy out of there. She tried to quickly focus on the location of her house before they attacked again, but it was blurry in her mind.

The figures stood up, but then paused. They turned toward the temple and reverently dropped to their knees. All the approaching monks also went down on their knees, not the way Beast Boy had, but willingly.

Several new figures were approaching them from the direction of the temple. One was a tall man in flowing white robes. He was floating, his feet an inch or so above the ground. The others looked like monks, perhaps senior monks because their robes were slightly more colorful. They merely walked fast behind him.

When she saw them, Raven also stopped what she was doing and knelt down. Beast Boy stood there, still holding his head. As the central figure got close, Beast Boy saw it was a wise looking old man with long flowing hair and a long beard. He couldn't help but mutter out loud:

"It's freakin' Gandalf the White!"

If anyone nearby heard his Lord of the Rings movie reference, they gave no indication that they understood what he was talking about. The figure settled to the ground in front of Raven.


	10. Sent Home Alone

All were silent as the high priest stood before Raven. Of course, he wasn't Gandalf; he didn't even have a staff, but he did have the hair style and beard. And he had intense light blue eyes.

"Please get up," he said.

They did so, and everyone removed their hoods. The girl who had attacked Beast Boy was revealed to be only about nine years old, with blonde hair and an innocent face with blue eyes and freckles.

_I got my butt kicked by a little girl! _Beast Boy grumbled to himself.

"Jerichana," the high priest said gently, "you should not have reacted to our guests in such a strong fashion."

Beast Boy noticed a very confused look on the girl's face, but nonetheless she bowed low in apology to them.

"Raven, my dear child, we are honored to see you again," he said. "But had you good cause for this display?"

"My friend is an out-worlder and does not know the ways of Azarath. I feared he might suffer serious injury from the full force of the collective mind," she replied and then paused. "I ask forgiveness."

"Of course, my sweet child. Those of us who have known you since birth know what is in your heart."

"We have glimpsed his mind," one of the elders said as she indicated Beast Boy. "We can see that he is not a demon and does not pose a threat. Yet his thought patterns are very erratic and foreign to us."

"Please forgive our vigilance," the high priest continued, "We must be very careful these days. We sense a disturbance in the harmony of the collective mind, even as the guiding voice of Azar has fallen silent. There is perhaps an evil amonst us, and it can only be the influence of Scath."

"There is not such cause for alarm," Raven pointed out, remembering Jerichana's remark about her being the 'unclean one'. "I myself have driven him back once."

"Yes, sweet Raven. And we are eternally grateful. But, of course, he will always try again."

He paused. "Raven, we must ask you now to join your mind with the collective, however briefly, so that we can attain harmony together and you can see all that we see."

"I hear and obey," she said and closed her eyes.

"Umm…." Beast Boy interjected.

"There is no cause for worry," the high priest assured him with a smile. "In the collective Mind of Azar there is the perfect order of nonviolence and peacefulness."

"Yeah, I can still feel the _non-violence_," Beast Boy said to himself.

A few drops of rain fell from the cloudy sky. Soon Raven opened her eyes. Her expression seemed to be one of peace and tranquility, although her eyes had a far-away look about them.

"Raven?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she assured him.

"Let us step out of the rain," the high priest said as he ushered them over to a nearby building connected to the temple. They walked up a wide flight of steps guarded on both sides by huge carved elephants.

At the top of the steps was a curtain of hanging beads and they passed through it into a dining room with an oval table with high backed chairs all around it. A single monk was seated there, but he stood up when they entered.

He was tall with broad shoulders and strong arms. His hood was off and they could see his shoulder length blonde hair and intense green eyes. But perhaps the most surprising thing was that he was Tamaranean.

"Allow me to introduce Brother Charand'r," the high priest said. "He comes to us from one of the royal houses of Tamaran. A warrior prince who has embraced the spiritual side."

He bowed low to Raven, and walked over to her.

"You must be Raven," he said with a smile. "I am honored. Your mother has told me much about you, and long requested that we meet."

Raven's eyes were still glassy. Beast Boy couldn't tell if that was from her allowing them into her mind, or if it was a look similar to when she first met Aqualad. Either way, he didn't like it.

The high priest motioned for everyone to sit at the table.

Charand'r gallantly pulled the chair out for Raven and she sat. One of the elders sat down at her right side and Beast Boy moved to sit in the chair on her left, but Charand'r beat him to it. He sat in the next seat.

Tea cups had been placed all around the polished table which was carved with lotus blossoms, and soon another monk came and filled each cup.

_Not more tea!_ Beast Boy groaned silently. But no one spoke or did anything and eventually he decided to at least take a sip and see how bad it was this time.

As he reached for his cup, Charand'r turned to him. "No one may drink before the Master."

With a brief scowl at him, Beast Boy set his cup back down.

Finally, the high priest drank from his cup and everyone else did simultaneously. Then there was a long period of silence while they contemplated the taste of the tea. It took all of Beast Boy's willpower to keep from fidgeting. Then all the elders hummed or chanted softly and the high priest spoke in a different language. It wasn't clear if he was saying a prayer, or singing a song, or something else entirely, but it lasted forever and Beast Boy was about to burst.

At last he spoke English again.

"Beast Boy, you are our honored guest and a true hero," he said. All the elders raised their cups as if in a toast, and the Titan's jaw dropped open at this turn of events. _How did they know my name?_ he wondered.

"However," he continued, "we sense that perhaps you wish to return to your home now? Your team misses you and it may be that our world is not so agreeable to you."

"Um, it's cool. I'll go when Raven is ready."

"That is most thoughtful of you," Charand'r said kindly. "But quite unnecessary."

"Yes," the high priest said. "But I am afraid you will find an entire day of meditation quite tedious. And you are perhaps not yet ready to join in the Collective."

"His mind is most undisciplined. He thinks of eating, playing games, and wishing for sexual activity," a female elder said.

"Much wishing for sexual activity," another elder said, shaking his head sadly.

"What? I'm a guy." He grinned, but had a slight blush he as he glanced at Raven. She still had the glassy far-away look in her eyes.

"Sweet Raven, will you not stay with us a little longer? There is much to discuss," the high priest asked.

"Yes, I will stay," she said. Her voice sounded a little dreamy, or was that only Beast Boy's imagination?

"Um, Raven … Are you sure? Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm more than okay." She blinked and her eyes and voice were normal. "It's fine, Beast Boy. I really appreciate you coming, and you've been a big help. But you can go now. I'll be home soon."

He studied her face for a while, but it was definitely the old Raven, right down to the annoyed expression that was beginning to form.

"Okay…If you're sure…"

"Yes."

They led him outside onto the wet stone street. A misty rain was still falling, making beads of water in his hair. One of the elders indicated for him to unfasten his robe and he handed it to her. He stood there in his Titan uniform as the high priest, Raven, Charand'r, and all the other elders joined hands in a circle around him. They closed their eyes and began to focus.

As a swirl of colors began to form around him, he had the taste of eating an orange. He looked at Raven, but she had her eyes closed as she repeated her mantra. Then the face of the old woman –who he now knew must be Azar- was briefly superimposed on Raven's.

But soon Azar's face faded, and a transparent image of Raven's own face covered her real one. This face was sad -sad and frightened. It became more and more solid. Raven's cloak turned grey.

Beast Boy had seen this Raven before, when he and Cyborg took the accidental trip into her mirror and into her mind. This was _Timid_, the embodiment of Raven's fears and insecurities. Timid's mouth was quivering and tears stared to form. Her grey cloak was now taking on streaks of black as if ink were dripping on it.

Then everything faded into a swirling pattern of color. The last thing Beast Boy heard was Azar's voice, very faint, pleading.

"Help her..."

Then he felt as if he was flying. When he transported with Raven, their trip had been graceful, although he had felt a little wooziness in his stomach. Now, under the influence of all of them, he felt like he had been shot out of a cannon.

The swirling colors began to fade and he looked down to see Titan's Tower taking shape far below him. But instead of moving down toward it, he continued flying past, going miles and miles out to sea.

The choppy waves of the open ocean sparkled beneath him in the light of a full moon. There was no land anywhere in sight. Then the colors were gone and he felt the night air whizzing by him as he fell from a great height. He hit the cold water feet first and went down deep, making a trail of bubbles.


	11. In The Valley of Indecision, part 1

As the dark water of the open ocean pressed down on him, Beast Boy morphed into a barracuda. A school of small fish scattered when he appeared in their midst. His barracuda instinct suggested grabbing a meal, but his human mind overruled that for the moment.

He swam in a wide circle as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Had they just tried to kill him, or did they just have lousy aim in sending him back? If Raven had been controlling that, she should have been able to put him right back into the Tower, with none of this dropping from the sky. So she had not been in control.

He needed to get back to the Tower. He swam at full speed to the surface and as the barracuda broke out of the water, it transformed into a bird and continued up. The bird was a Manx shearwater, which can fly at night, and had an almost supernatural ability to find its way back from an unfamiliar location.

He gained altitude and weaved around a bit until he somehow felt he knew the correct direction and then he was off. He paced himself because it would be a long flight.

But the hours flying gave him time to think. What had happened back in Azarath? He remembered Raven turning into Timid, and Azar saying for him to help her. What did that even mean? Timid was a part of Raven's personality. So why didn't she just say help Raven? Did she mean for him for him to go inside Raven's mirror again?

He also remembered the way the image of Timid had replaced Raven as he looked at her standing in the circle with the elders. Was that supposed to mean Timid _was_ Raven? That made no sense at all.

The sun was coming up and shining right in his face as he flew East over the ocean, which made flying a bit more difficult. He saw a couple fishing boats and that meant he was probably getting near the coast. His wings were getting tired and he was gliding as much as possible.

And there was another question: Did he even trust this Azar person? Truthfully, he didn't trust anyone in Azarath, much less someone who was "dead". The only person he knew was Raven, and she had said for him to go home. But was that 'collective mind' thing messing with her head? All these questions made his brain hurt.

Finally he saw land, and then Titan's Tower. Exhaustion was overtaking him. He made a bumpy landing on the roof, and started walking for the stairwell. When he got close to the door and out of the sun, he felt his legs wobble beneath him and he needed to sit. Just sit for a moment. Maybe close his eyes…

The next thing he felt was the heat. He was being cooked alive. He opened his eyes and found himself still on the roof, but now sun was directly overhead. He staggered to his feet and, wiping the sweat off his face, went inside the air conditioned building.

There was a water cooler waiting inside, installed last summer by a thirsty Cyborg after a particularly intense rooftop basketball game. He drank several cups of cold water and began to feel like himself again.

He entered to the common room and saw no one. Were they away on a mission? But as he made his way to the kitchen, he saw a goth girl was standing there with her back to him as she tried to find something in the refrigerator.

"Raven?" he asked.

"Not quite, matey," she said without turning around.

Now he could see she had black hair with streaks of red, and a black strapless dress that frilled out a little and became red at her hips.

"Argent!"

"G'day, Beastie!" She said as she turned to greet him with a smile. He walked over and she gave him a hug. "I was beginning to wonder if you invited me here just to ditch me."

"But I thought you said you weren't coming until next week..."

She shrugged. "Got bored. Thought I'd pop over a bit early. Been here since last night."

"Where is everyone else?"

"Well, after finishing his workout, Robin's gone to grab a shower. Dunno where Starrie is off too, but us girls are going shopping this afternoon, so she better get her cute little arse back here and not forget. Cyborg is gone with his lady friend about an hour ago."

"Starfire would **never** forget about shopping," Beast Boy said. "I'm starving. What have we got in the refrigerator?"

"B'loody nothing," Argent grumbled.

"Let's see what we can find," he offered. "Would you like a cup of Raven's tea?"

Argent rolled her eyes. "As much as I love a good colonic cleanse, I think I'll pass …How about a pint of Cyborg's private reserve?" she added with a twinkle in her eye.

"I think that can be arranged," he replied as he got out a bottle for each of them, and she graciously opened both with a bottle opener she wore on a little chain.

He went back to rummaging in the refrigerator.

"Now I had all the ingredients for this before I left, and knowing my teammates, nobody else touched them. How would you feel about braised tofu with hoisin sauce?"

"I'll try anything once," she said.

Beast Boy pulled a wok out of a cabinet and began heating some canola oil. Then, in a flurry of activity, he had a cutting board out and was slicing up tofu, eggplant, onions, ginger, and several other ingredients, and tossing them in.

Argent sat at the counter while he cooked, sipping her drink and laughing at all of his jokes, especially the naughtier ones. She didn't ask about what had happened in Azarath. Instead, she wanted to hear stories about life in the tower, such as the one about missing parts of Starfire's uniform being found in Robin's room and explained away as part of a "laundry sorting accident."

She also wanted to hear about Cyborg's new girlfriend Rebecca. She already knew how Control Freak had sucked the Titans into the world of television and how Cyborg had met an actress from a Latin American soap opera. Beast Boy recounted how they had stayed in touch, and how he had gone to see her after he had hit a rough patch with Bumble Bee, and lately they had been seeing each other quite often.

When it was her turn, she told about some battles with villains of the southern hemisphere, including a giant robotic octopus, and she talked about her adventures in New Zealand nightclubs. As she talked, he noticed how she had the same eye rolls as Raven and the same dark humor, only Argent actually enjoyed a good laugh. And she was eating his tofu without complaint.

As they were finishing lunch, the conversation turned to his recent trip to Azarath.

"When Robin played Raven's voice message for us, it sounded a bit like the two of you were going off to get hitched," she said with a laugh.

"_Not bloody likely, mate_," he said in an imitation of her accent.

"Good," she replied. "So tell me what happened."

Beast Boy told her the story, but a short version which left out the personal details and only mentioned Raven's mother being alive and well and then his being asked to leave.

"What a stiff lot of blokes!" She exclaimed. "Glad her mum's okay, though."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"So who called her home? And what's she doing now?"

"I don't know," he said. "In fact, I need to go talk to Robin."

"Right, off you go then. I'll clean up here, no worries."

With a smile of thanks, he left as Argent began collecting the dishes and putting them in the sink.

.

.

Beast Boy rapped his knuckles on Robin's door. "Hey, Robin, you in there?"

The door slid open to reveal Robin putting some gel in his hair to get the spikes just right.

"Beast Boy! When did you get back?"

"Just a little while ago. I got dropped out in the ocean and had to fly back here."

Robin face-palmed with the hand that didn't have hair gel. "I was afraid of that something like that when I heard the two of you had gone together. You made her mad, didn't you? And for her to do that, it must have been something really big."

"No, it's not like that," he assured him.

He told Robin a longer version of the story, of course leaving out the part about kissing Raven or any personal details, but this time he did mention the visions from Azar and the battle with the girl Jerichana, and what had happened with the high priest and the elders. He also mentioned the Tamaranean Charand'r that they had met.

Robin sat on the foot of his bed and listened intently as Beast Boy paced back and forth telling the story. When he finished, Robin was deep in thought.

"What should we do?" Beast Boy asked.

"I'm not sure what we can do," Robin said slowly. "Or if we _should_ do anything. Is Raven in danger?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I don't know. I feel like something is wrong."

"Do you have any evidence?"

"There's the vision… And the way everybody there is creepy… And the way that girl fought Raven. The whole thing gives me a bad feeling."

"I don't know what that 'vision' was," Robin said gently. "And I don't think you do either. So I'm inclined not to trust it. And it just seems that the customs there are strange – Strange to us, but that is Raven's home. And the girl fought **you**, because you evidently broke some kind of a rule and touched her."

"Robin, I want you to help me find a way to get back there," Beast Boy said, becoming a little agitated.

Robin looked at the cascade of emotions going though his friend's face. But his response was calm and rational.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to say no."


	12. In the Valley of Indecision, part 2

"Robin…!" Beast Boy protested.

"Hear me out," Robin said, putting up his hands in a calming gesture. "First, you told me that Raven said she would be home soon, so why don't we just give her a little time?"

Beast Boy looked at him sharply, but acknowledged with a sigh that his idea made sense.

"Second, I have no idea at all where Azarath is or how to find it."

"It's in another dimension…"

"Exactly. So how are we going to cross into it without Raven's abilities? And third, if she **is **in trouble, then yes, you should go. In fact, we all should go to help her."

Again Beast Boy reluctantly agreed, absent mindedly handling the gadgets Robin had lying on his desk on the other side of the room.

Robin continued, "But you said that this priest guy and the others were all friendly to her, and that Raven herself said that you should leave."

"They might have been influencing her mind! And this Char_-whatever-his-name-is_ dude seemed like he was taking a weird interest in her…"

"Did you notice that you said 'might have been'?"

Beast Boy glared at him again.

"Look, why don't you sit down?" Robin asked and scooted over as Beast Boy reluctantly sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm on your side here," Robin continued. "But let's just put in all out on the table. You and Raven have a … complicated … relationship."

"You think, because we argue some times, that she hates me."

"No," Robin said firmly. "From what I've observed, deep inside she has quite a high opinion of your abilities and values your friendship a lot - in her own way…"

Beast Boy smiled a little at that, so Robin continued to the other part of his statement:

"But … Raven is a very introverted person. And, frankly, you come on too strong. It's the same pattern over and over: Everything is calm around here, you try to get her to do something fun, she doesn't want to, you persist, she gets upset, and you get upset and then we have a couple days of bickering until it calms down again…"

"What's your point?"

There was a knock and the door and Robin walked over to press the button to open it. Starfire and Argent stood in the hallway, and Starfire looked very excited.

"We are making the journey to the Mall of Shopping! Friend Argent wants to give me the 'new look'."

"New look?" Robin repeated.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire cried with a smile when she noticed him sitting on the foot of the bed. "Please, you will tell me all about your trip when I come home?"

"Sure thing, Star," he replied.

"Then it is goodbye!" she exclaimed and waved excitedly, then blew Robin a kiss. Argent rolled her eyes at all this exuberance and gave a small half-wave with her hand as the door slid closed.

Smiling and shaking his head a little at that, Robin turned back to Beast Boy.

"You know, you invited Argent to come visit us, and now you're not even going to spend any time with her?"

"Dude, I want to! This whole thing with Raven inviting me to Azarath caught me by surprise. And as for this 'coming on too strong' thing, I haven't been doing hardly anything to bug her for a **long** time."

"So why do you want to mess it up now?" Robin sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"Look, I'm not everyone's dad here… I want to fight crime, I don't want to get involved in people's personal lives…But we all know you've always had a thing for Raven."

Beast Boy folded his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hey, I'm a guy, too … I know how good she looks in that leotard – don't mention that to Starfire, by the way. I _want_ things to work out for you."

Beast Boy looked at him in silence.

"Now, I think I have a good way of dealing with Raven, and that is to give her a lot of space," Robin continued.

"Dude, if you remember Starfire's visit to the future, giving Raven too much space just ends up with her alone in a white room somewhere," Beast Boy pointed out. "And didn't we all go to Starfire's planet because you thought she was going to get forced into marrying this green blob?"

"She **invited** us to come. Then I got a bad feeling when she said she had never even met her groom."

"And I have a bad feeling now. So why is figuring out a way for me to go to Azarath any different?"

"It's more than that. Look, I know that you and Raven had a _real_ fight one time."

Robin noted the shocked expression on Beast Boy's face.

"I'm a detective, remember? I noticed the way both of you were acting funny, and I saw the dent in the kitchen wall that was exactly your size. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. And both of you lied about it, even though we had all promised never to use our full abilities on another teammate in anger."

_{{A.N: As you might recall, they talked about this fight in Chapter 1 }}_

"That was a long time ago!" Beast Boy protested. "And it wasn't her fault, it was mine. I said something to her that I shouldn't have."

"It must have really been a doozy…What was it?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Anyway, I hope you see my point here. I don't want you barging into Azarath when she doesn't want you to, and causing some kind of a big problem between you two that isn't going to go away. Plus, she'll think I broke her trust."

"Dude, like I want that? But my instincts tell me something is wrong." He got up and started pacing again. "Why can't you trust my judgment on this? I've gone one-on-one with Slade just like you. I was fighting with the Doom Patrol before this, just like you were fighting alongside Batman. Why don't you have confidence in me? You treat me like I'm a little kid."

"Come on, that's not true…" Robin said with a pained look on his face. "Maybe we can brainstorm a way to get you there later… All I want from you is a solid reason why you need to go, and why this isn't like one of those times when you snuck into her room."

"I can't explain it in words – it's just a feeling I have. And that should be _good enough_ for you."

Beast Boy strode to the door and walked out. Robin stared at the door for a long time after it closed behind him.

.

.

.

Beast Boy walked around the hallways for several minutes grumbling to himself.

"What does he mean 'a good reason'? My reasons are good! I'm not into spooky supernatural stuff either, but those visions of Azar must mean something… And maybe somebody **is** trying to get her to marry that Charand'r dude … I should at least talk to her…"

He found himself standing outside of Raven's door. Maybe she had come back by now. That would make everything so much easier.

He banged on the door. No answer. He turned into elephant to use its excellent hearing, and listened for a long time. No sounds at all inside. He was going to turn into a bloodhound, but realized that would be useless. Her scent would be everywhere because it was her room.

_I've stood out here in this hallway so many times I should have installed a chair! And here I am falling right back into my old ways._

The door was locked, but he figured that he could still get in. He'd just look around briefly and see if there was some kind of way to get to Azarath_. _Turning into a fly, he went into the ventilation duct and emerged inside her room.

_Here I am, proving Robin right_, he thought uncomfortably as he morphed back into his human self. _I'm just going to look around and try to find that mirror. Not going to snoop_.

The room looked untouched from a couple days ago, except it was quite dark now because all the candles had burned down to their base and gone out. He turned on the lights, but it was still dim because bright light bothered Raven's eyes.

The circle of white sand was still on the floor, with two sets of footprints in the center. He stepped inside on top of his old footprints and waited. Nothing happened.

"Azarath …Metrion …Zinthos!" he said, feeling rather silly. Again nothing happened. Of course not – he didn't have Raven's power.

He wandered around. Housekeeping was not her first love, as the room was rather messy and her dirty laundry didn't always make it into the hamper. On her dresser there was no meditation mirror, but there was a small framed picture of a woman, who he now recognized as being Arella. There was also a letter that had recently come in the mail, but was unopened. The sender name was only "M." and the return address was a nursing home – wasn't that where Mumbo was incarcerated? Why would he be writing to her?

He walked over to a heavy wooden trunk which had a lock on it, but the lock was open. He lifted the lid to find a colorful party dress that was neatly folded up – probably a gift from Starfire that Raven wanted to disappear from sight. The only other things were a Garfield book ("I Hate Mondays!") with Garfield colored sort of green on the cover – must be a printing error - and a torrid romance novel with a shirtless hunk tearing a beautiful damsel's dress. That made Beast Boy laugh, but was useless for his present quest. He closed the trunk.

He searched the room a while longer, but there was no mirror to be found. Nor was there any letter summoning her to Azarath (He didn't know what it would look like, but imagined some kind of a parchment scroll). The one interesting thing he did find was a bunch of high resolution pictures of Slade on her desk.

The pictures were of Slade when he was Trigon's "apprentice" and he had the glowing mark of Scath on his forehead. They must have come from images recorded by Cyborg's electronic eye. For some reason, she seemed particularly interested in that mark, as there were many close-ups of it, and also of a shadowy black aura behind Slade.

Interesting, but useless to him. He sighed and mumbled to himself, "There is no way I can get back there without help. It's hopeless."

He transformed back into the fly and went out the way he came in. By the time he got to his own room, Robin's inescapable logic was beginning to have an effect. _Was she really in danger? How do I know the old woman I saw really even was this 'Azar'? Why am I acting like this?_

He took off his uniform and jumped in his shower. As the warm water flowed over him he was lost in thought: _A couple days ago everything made sense. I know I used to have a crush on Raven, but I never got anywhere with her, and I moved on._

Drying off with a towel, he looked into the mirror behind his sink. _Isn't is amazing how many impossible things happened? She invited __**me**__ to go to Azarath with her and help her with her problem. She kissed me – still not sure why – but __**Raven**__ actually kissed me! And she said something about someday opening her heart up to me – I think that is what she said. _

But the boy in the mirror said (in Beast Boy's mind):

_But you know what is going to happen? She's going to come back today or tomorrow and she'll be just fine._

_You'll be all like, "Hi, Raven! I'm so glad to see you!"_

_And she'll be all like, "Go away!" and shut her door in your face._

_You __**know**__ that is what's gonna happen. And there you are, right back to being a little kid, being a fool, standing outside her door. After all these years, are going to get your hopes up again and just get kicked in the crotch?_

"I just want to talk to her and get everything clear," Beast Boy said out loud to his reflection.

_She told her mom she did __**not**__ like you. She said the kiss was an 'accident'! And right now she is probably so plastered to that Tamaranean dude so you can't even tell who's arms belong to who, who's legs belong to who…_

"Aarrgh!" Beast Boy growled, putting both hands on his head_._

_Argent is here. You first started video chatting with her because Raven shut you out. Now you're going to blow it with her? _

"I'm talking in my own mirror!" Beast Boy cried. "I'm as bad as Raven with her color coded mini Ravens!" He looked at the floor. "God, I hope she's okay right now, but…"

He looked back at his reflection. "I do **not** want to be her fool again. Robin's right, I should just wait."

Beast Boy put on a clean uniform and was fixing his hair when there was a knock on his door.

"It's open!" he yelled.

Robin came in, and before Beast Boy could speak, Robin held up his hand.

"You might not think so," he said, "but I do have confidence in you. I've certainly known you long enough. And I have some ideas, so if she doesn't come home tonight, tomorrow we'll see what we can do."

"Thanks," Beast Boy said. He wisely didn't mention all the doubts he was now having.

But he was full of them.

* * *

_[**Author's Note**: So finally we are getting to the part where Beast Boy has to make a hard decision that will cost him dearly. While all this is happening here, things are happening in Azarath, too. And those things need some time to complete, but we will learn about them soon._

_Thanks for coming this far and I hope you will keep on reading! Going to be some fireworks._


	13. What is Raven Doing Right Now?

As night fell, Robin and Beast Boy sat alone in the darkened common room, their faces lit by the glow from of the large computer screen. Robin was explaining what he had found out.

"I started by looking at Raven's background to see if we could find anyone that could help…"

"The Church of Azar might know how to get there," Beast Boy suggested.

"Yes, I considered that. I connected to the Bat Computer in Gotham and pulled all records on this Church of Azar. But everything indicates that it is just a fraud, a money making scam."

"I read some article a couple years back about Raven's mother being taken in by them," Beast Boy insisted.

"The internet is full of rumors, but there is nothing reliable … If there is a real Church of Azar, it is well hidden," Robin said with a shrug. "Next, I tried finding any family Raven might have. She **really** doesn't like to give out personal information. The emergency contact information she gave us lists an address that does not even exist. It does give her grandmother's name, but unfortunately, she passed away about the time Raven came out here. No other living relatives turned up – even her mother is officially listed as deceased, and with no children."

"We know that's not right," Beast Boy said. "What about her school records? I know she went to school here – I saw she had a yearbook, but I don't remember the name of the school…"

Robin nodded. "It makes sense because she knows our customs so much better than say, Starfire, but nothing turns up in the database. She must have gone under a different name and had no school pictures taken."

Beast Boy sighed. "If we can't find anyone who might know how to get to Azarath, maybe you and Cyborg could build something – we have that equipment from Control Freak that transported us into the TV…"

"That's not as easy as you might think," Robin pointed out. "But I did think of one other person who might be able to help."

"Who?"

"Kcid Nosyrag." When Beast Boy looked at him blankly, Robin clarified, "You know…Larry."

"Oh yeah! Your 'DNA Buddy'. But he's…" The initial enthusiasm on his face dampened a bit.

"That's right," Robin nodded. "He's a friend, but his powers are somewhat … unpredictable. I hate to call him in, except as a last resort. Plus, I'd probably have to break my arm again."

The brainstorming session ended, and an exhausted Beast Boy dragged to bed. He never mentioned pictures of Slade he had seen in Raven's room, or the letter from Mumbo. No doubt they had nothing to do with the present situation, and he didn't want to admit to Robin that he had snuck in there again.

.

.

.

The next morning, he awoke with the first rays of sunlight shining in his window and couldn't fall back to sleep, even with the pillow over his head. _What is Raven doing_ _right now?_ he wondered. _Is she in trouble or is she fine?_ _Maybe she had already come home_ _and I don't have to think about this anymore_. He got dressed and went by Raven's room on his way to breakfast. He banged repeatedly on the door and listened again with his elephant ears, but she wasn't in. With a sigh, he went down to the common room.

Once again there was a goth looking girl in the kitchen with her back to him. Could it be Raven? No, this time it was obvious that she was much too tall.

"The G'day, mate Beast Boy!"

Starfire turned to greet him, and his jaw dropped open in shock at a sight that he never could have imagined if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. She had dyed her hair black, with red streaks, and applied a lot of eyeliner and shadow. The top of her uniform and her stockings were also black, and her skirt was burgundy red.

"Wow!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "I guess Argent is having a big effect on you."

"Yes, she wished to give me the 'new look'," Starfire replied. "Is it pleasing? I am giving it the trying out."

"Um … Yeah, it's very nice," he said. Of course, with her perfect body, Starfire would look good no matter how she dressed, but somehow this look didn't quite fit her personality. Hopefully, she could wash her hair back to its normal color.

He fixed himself a bowl of Fruity Pebbles and sat at the table with Starfire as she used a large spoon to eat a helping of rocky road ice cream mixed with chopped liverwurst and pickle slices. Robin had evidently briefed her on what had happened in Azarath last night, so Beast Boy didn't have to repeat everything, but he did want to ask her about Charand'r.

"My people know of Trigon and his reputation for cruelty," she said as she swallowed a large chunk of pickle. "But I am unaware of anyone from Tameran who was involved in an effort to battle him."

"Have you ever met this Charand'r?" he asked as he poured milk on his cereal.

Starfire looked away in thought. "I believe I have the memory of meeting such a boy once. He was from one of the other noble houses, and was rather strange."

"He seemed to be very interested in Raven, and I was a little worried…"

"You are thinking that he will harm Raven?"

"I don't know ... I even had the crazy idea that someone would force them to get married, and maybe I should go back there and talk to her. Of course, it would probably end up being like that episode of _Star Trek_ where I'd have to fight this guy with axes or something!"

He laughed, but Starfire's expression was very serious, although she looked so different with all the dark makeup around her eyes that he couldn't be certain.

"You would fight him because you wish to marry her?"

"Of course not!" he said quickly.

"Oh," she said as she ate the last of her ice cream. "I thought perhaps, at one time, you had the crush on her."

"That's crazy," he insisted. "I mean, sure, I care about her. We all do, right? I wouldn't want her to get forced into anything."

"I do not believe friend Raven could be forced into marrying someone she did not wish to," Starfire pointed out. "She is rather stubborn. And it would be very dangerous for you to fight Charand'r with weapons. All nobles are well trained in such combat from their earliest youth." She paused. "But did Raven not once tell us that the people of Azarath do not believe in violence?"

"I know a little girl who would disagree with you," he said dryly as he took another spoonful of his cereal. "And, anyway, it doesn't matter because there is no way for me to get back there."

"Could we not ask friend Herald to send you? I believe he can open a portal to many places."

"Star, you may have just hit on the perfect idea," he cried as his face lit up. "Thanks!"

"You are the welcome … mate!" she said with a smile as she tried to imitate Argent's accent.

Starfire took her empty dishes to the sink to wash them, and he walked over to the sofa with his half eaten bowl of cereal to see what was on TV.

Now he potentially had a way to get to Azarath. He was pretty excited at first as he idly flipped through the channels with the remote. All that was left to do was contact Herald and … actually go. Should he really do it? Did he want to do it? What would he find? He wished he knew what was Raven doing right now.

.

.

.

Argent was not a morning person. She wandered into the common room around 11 AM to find Beast Boy sitting on the sofa, playing a one-player shooting game on the Xbox.

"Kia ora," she said.

"Buenos días, señorita. Cómo estás?"

"I said 'hello'", she translated.

"I said 'Good day. How are you?' he translated.

"Choice, mate. Been learning Spanish, eh?" Then she smiled. "Oh, right, you're 'Chico Bestia' now and very popular in Latin America."

"You know it, babe."

"Then how come Tin Man is the bloke with the Latin American girlfriend?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I've got too many to choose from."

"Right. That's why you invited me up here." She spied the other controller and picked it up. "Fancy a real game?"

His eyes lit up, and he let her choose the first one. She chose a survival game based on the movie _Alien_, and in a close match, she beat him.

"Piece of piss," she said.

"What? You didn't like playing?"

She laughed. "No, back home that means 'easy'."

He smiled. Argent was certainly different, and it was a lot of fun playing with her. You know, Raven would never play one of these games, even when he glued the remote to her hands. And, despite her love of skulls and the color black, Argent had a lighter side to her.

As she was looking down at the remote, he noticed how pretty her dark hair was. He saw at the 'A' that was marked into her skin below her neck. Below that, he noticed how shapely her breasts were, and how this dress really clung to them, and …

"Spy something of interest?" she asked.

"Um … I was just wondering about that 'A'," he said quickly.

"Originally, it was a scar I did with a knife, then I inked it in." Seeing his slightly shocked expression, she continued, "I've had my share of bad days, you know. Been living on my own since I was eight, with powers I don't fully understand … This was to help me remember who I was and keep my focus."

"I can relate to that," he said softly. "At least you're not green."

"You're right," she said with a wink. "I'm not that lucky."

He smiled and they went back to playing, and both had a lot of fun. It wasn't until much later that he thought about Raven again. What was happening with her now? Whatever it was, he was confident she was fine. There was no need to contact Herald immediately. He could stay here for a few more days.

.

.

.

In Azarath, it was dusk and a low fog hung to the ground as Raven walked home from the temple. She had her hood on and she looked down at the street in front of her. Everyone else on the street gave her a wide berth as she passed.

Everything that she had seen and heard that day had been true, and she had to admit it to herself. The humming of the collective mind echoed in her head, but she made no attempt to block it. It was pointless.

When she reached her house, there was a pot of stew waiting for her. Arella had left it there before she departed on her week long pilgrimage to the shrine at the mountain peak.

Raven lifted the lid. It smelled good, but she didn't feel like eating. In fact, she hadn't felt like eating in a while.

She entered her house and locked the heavy door. All her emotions were swirling into chaos as she set the stew down in the kitchen. Despite being exhausted, she knew there was no point in going to bed because she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

She got out her meditation mirror. Not feeling able to levitate, she sat cross legged on the wood floor in the living room and looked into the mirror…

* * *

_[Author's note: Whew! It's been a busy week, but I've finally got this chapter out. In the next chapter, we see the (upgraded!) Cyborg and Beast Boy returns to Azarath. I hope you like it.]_


	14. Love Rears Up Its Ugly Head

Beast Boy and Cyborg were outside on the Tower lawn playing catch with a football in the afternoon sun. Cyborg threw a long bomb, and Beast Boy ran back to catch it, which he barely did before he reached the water's edge.

"Whew, let's take a break," he called, breathing hard as he walked back to his friend.

"Man, you're just out of shape!" he taunted.

Cyborg had undergone a transformation in the last year and a half. Of course, he was still a quadruple amputee, and still had robotic arms and legs, but his right arm and his legs looked much more like they did before his accident. His arm and hand especially now had the look and feel or real human skin, as well as most of the nerve sensations.

He was still a tall guy with broad shoulders, but there was a lot less metal plating covering his upper torso, so he no longer looked like he was always wearing football padding. His left forearm and hand looked largely the same as they always had, and he could still form it into his sonic cannon, or a host of other useful devices. And he could tint his electronic eye to appear just like his human one, if a social occasion called for it.

They walked into the Tower garage and past the T-Car, which Cyborg had tuned up earlier in the day. In fact, one of the reasons for the football session was to diplomatically keep Beast Boy from 'helping' with the engine work.

"Herald is playing in a jazz band in River City every night this week. We could drive there tonight," Cyborg suggested.

Beast Boy shrugged. "I don't know if we need to go today ... Raven is probably fine."

They walked to the back office, where there was a refrigerator and Cyborg pulled out a couple bottles of iced tea. He tossed one to Beast Boy.

"Do you think you really should go back there on your own?" Cyborg asked, trying to be as casual as possible. He knew the history of tension between Beast Boy and Raven as well as anyone, and didn't want to see his best friend get into a bad situation.

"I don't know," he said with a sigh. "You were inside Raven's mirror with me. What do you think that 'vision' -or whatever- I had of Timid means?"

Cyborg rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The grey one? I thought she represented Raven's fears and insecurities. So I'd guess it would mean maybe Raven is afraid?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy said slowly. That thought bothered him. He didn't pursue the topic further with Cyborg, and tried to push it from his mind as they finished their drinks.

But maybe Raven was alone and afraid now. That bothered him a lot.

.

.

With an orange and red sunset lighting the sky in the distance, the T-Car zipped down the interstate on its way to River City. Cyborg was driving, with his girlfriend Rebecca in the front seat. She had long reddish brown hair and looked much as she did when Cyborg appeared on her soap opera when they had chased Control Freak through the world of television shows. In fact, the show had been an English/Spanish telenovela and, in person, Rebecca spoke with a slight Mexican accent.

In the back, Starfire sat with her long legs a little cramped and still sporting gothic makeup, but she had toned it down a bit. The novelty of it was probably wearing off, and in a couple days she would go back to looking like her old self. Meanwhile, Cyborg and Beast Boy were both secretly dying to know what Robin thought of this transformation, as he had been very tight lipped.

Argent sat in the middle, next to both Starfire and Beast Boy, who was at the other window. All were in their civilian clothes, which were jeans and a t-shirt for Beast Boy, although he had his uniform packed in a bag hidden in the trunk. Conspicuously absent was Robin, who was coming a little later on his motorcycle.

"You're an actress then?" Argent asked Rebecca conversationally.

"She's a star!" Cyborg said.

"I'm an unemployed actress now," Rebecca countered.

"You're in the running for a lot of parts," he assured her.

"And so you two met when he just popped into your show one day?" Argent continued.

"That's right. I didn't know who he was, but I said my lines anyway 'Oh, Lance, I didn't mean to make you fall madly in love with me'" she quoted. "Then he told me that he wasn't Lance and 'I don't love you!'" She made a mock expression of heartbreak on her face.

"Things change, baby," Cyborg said. "And I knew something was bound to happen when I first met you."

"You didn't call me for a long time," she pointed out.

"Really? What made you finally do it?" Argent asked.

Cyborg didn't answer right away, so Rebecca filled in some details.

"It was right after I did the photo shoot for SoHo magazine…They were a bit revealing," she said with a touch of embarrassment.

"So, seeing some racy pics is what done it? Made another one of your bits turn into steel, eh?" She thumped Cyborg hard on his shoulder.

It might not have seemed possible, but Cyborg blushed and quite intensely. Rebecca laughed at how cute that was. Argent noticed the two of them were discretely holding hands near the gear shift and she smiled.

Beast Boy laughed at the teasing of Cyborg, then went back to staring idly out the window. Argent was a lot of fun. He really wanted to stay here for the rest of her visit. He hadn't actually committed to going to Azarath, or told Argent about it – they were just going to see the show and talk to Herald. So why was that image of Raven as Timid gnawing away at him so much? She wasn't alone and afraid, she was probably fine!

They had reached River City, and traffic was getting heavy. They had to turn off at the next exit and there was a solid line of cars in that lane, except for a small gap far in front of them.

"Do you think you can make it?" Rebecca asked.

"No problem," Cyborg said as he accelerated and then gracefully cut into the opening in the turn lane.

"Mate, that was a piece of the piss," Starfire remarked.

"Starfire, do you need to use the restroom?" Cyborg asked, as he eyed her in the rear view mirror with a concerned expression. "Because those are my good seat covers..."

"Relax, mate. She meant that turn was easy," Argent clarified.

"Uh huh," Cyborg said slowly, still not sounding entirely convinced. "So you're still trying to learn Argent's slang?"

"You didn't kiss her, did you?" Beast Boy asked.

"We'll never tell," Argent replied mischievously.

Beast Boy laughed, and after a moment his internal monologue kicked in again: _Oh,_ _I really want to stay here with Argent! If I didn't love Raven, I…_

_**What? **__Where did that come from?_

_**No! no! no!**__ I do__** not **__love Raven._

" 'No' what, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked curiously.

Beast Boy looked at her a puzzled expression.

"You just said 'no' quite loud," Argent explained. "No worries, we didn't actually snog ... just thought about it," she added with a wink.

"Heh, heh, good," he said with a forced laugh. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something else..."

Argent rolled her eyes and went back to talking to Rebecca. He tried to stay focused on the conversation, but soon his mind was wandering again and he was staring out the window.

.

.

.

They arrived at the Jazz club and got a table. Herald and his band had just started their first set. He had transitioned to a part time superhero and full time musician, and it showed, as he made his trumpet soar over the notes in a way that few people in the world had ever mastered. The other players in his band just tried to keep up.

The waitress had taken the drink orders when Robin arrived. They knew it had to be Robin from the mask. Other than that, he was wearing black boots, baggy black pants and a red and black My Chemical Romance t-shirt, he even had red streaks in his hair. He walked quickly to the table without making eye contact with anyone and sat down silently next to Starfire. She gasped, half in delight and half in shock.

"O.M.G." Cyborg whispered to the others. "I hope this is a one time thing."

"Now that's** love**," Argent whispered to Beast Boy.

"Please, not that again," he said.

_Too bad Raven's not here_, Cyborg thought to himself. _One look from her would put a stop to this nonsense_.

They enjoyed the music for a while, then Argent and Starfire stood up.

"Please excuse us," Starfire said. "We must visit friend Lou."

"I think you mean 'visit the loo'," Argent corrected while trying to suppress a chuckle, and they departed.

"I knew it," Cyborg muttered. Then he leaned across the table to Beast Boy. "I called Herald and explained the situation to him, and he thinks he can do it."

"Okay," Beast Boy replied without any enthusiasm.

"Did you tell Argent yet?"

"No, not yet."

The girls soon returned to the table, and the Titans enjoyed their drinks and some appetizers as the music continued. Herald began playing jazzed versions of some older rock and roll songs.

"Here's one more before we take a break. It's for all the couples out there," Herald said into the microphone. "A tune by _In Living Color_ that we're going to jazz up for y'all. Be careful, boy! It's coming to get you."

"Oh, yeah!" Cyborg hollered as the melody became recognizable. He had a curiously detailed knowledge of 1980s music and television shows, including the Pointer Sisters and _Webster_ -which was a little unusual considering he hadn't even been born back then.

"What's the song?" Beast Boy asked.

"This is _Love Rears Up It's Ugly Head!_"

Rebecca shot him a curious glance at his enthusiasm as he said that, but he didn't notice.

As the instrumental melody built up to its climax, Beast Boy realized that it was almost time for him to go. His mind echoed the sentiments of the song, even if he didn't know the words.

_I'm not going… I'm not going… _

But the song ended, and all his friends at the table clapped. It would be so nice to stay here with all of them ... And it would be so hard to live with himself if he didn't go and something bad happened to Raven…

He excused himself as the band took a break and went out to the T-Car to get his uniform out of the trunk. Then he came back in and caught Argent as she was walking over to the bar. He took her aside.

"I'm sorry … I'd really like to hang out more with you…" Beast Boy explained.

" 'Hang out'?' Argent repeated mischievously. "What, your naughty bits?"

He laughed hard. "It's just an expression which means 'stay with you'. And I'd _really _like to – but I have to go."

"Because Raven is in danger?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe she's fine."

"Then there is only one reason why you should go."

"What's that?"

"Because you love her."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Um … yeah."

Argent stepped in and hugged him, then gave him a peck on the cheek. "Off you go then. Good luck, mate."

She started to walk away, but then turned one more time.

"I'm still a bit mad at you for this. Don't think I'm not."

"I'm a little mad at myself, too," he assured her.

Beast Boy stepped into the rest room and changed into his uniform_. I am a fool to do this_, he said to himself. _And I am __**not**__ in "love" with Raven. I just care a lot about her. I only said that to Argent because that was the answer that she would accept_.

Cyborg took Beast Boy back stage to Herald. They chatted briefly, and then Herald reached for his trumpet.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he mumbled.

"It's going to be tough to hold this note," Herald explained. "Raven only showed me this once…"

"When did you ever do this with Raven?" Beast Boy asked, but Herald was already blowing.

A swirling circular portal opened against the opposite wall, and through it they could see the city of Azarath in the distance, lit by torches because it was night there. The image jiggled and wavered as Herald struggled to hold the connection.

"Good luck, man," Cyborg said.

"This is going to be a disaster," Beast Boy grumbled as he made a running start and jumped into the flickering portal.

* * *

_AN: So Beast Boy has found his reason and made his choice to return to Azarath for Raven. Will Raven be happy to see him? Just between you and me, I think she probably will. In fact, I may have to bump this story up to an M, who knows... ;)_

_I hope you are liking it, and any feedback is most appreciated!_


	15. Second Night Together

Beast Boy could see the fire of the torches lighting the city of Azarath high on the mountain as he emerged from the vortex. Herald had done his best, but he hadn't gotten him particularly close to the city, nor had he materialized him at ground level.

He was somewhere much lower on the mountain, and falling in the darkness into a cloud of fog. Quickly he morphed into a humming bird to avoid a hard landing. When he saw rocks below him, he returned to human form and landed on them gently.

That had been a mistake.

He was encased in a blanket of fog and couldn't even see Azarath any more. But he could hear things around him in the darkness: howls, hisses, and grinding sounds like the gnashing of thousands of sets of teeth. Soon flaming sets of red eyes began to appear only a short distance away in the fog, and they were turning to notice him.

These must be the demons that haunt the fog around the city at night, as Arella had mentioned. As some kind of a scaly tendril stretched out along the ground to ensnare his legs, he blasted high off the ground as a frightened locust, and morphed back into a humming bird to continue to gain altitude.

Grey hands with black claws reached up all around him, but the humming bird was evasive. Once he was clearing the top of the fog bank, he switched to a peregrine falcon for even greater speed. Soon he was high in the sky and the angry howls were far below him.

He approached Azarath. Most of the city was dark, with a few torches burning around the central temple and at intervals along the city wall. In fact, there were robed figures holding the torches and standing at guard duty at wide intervals along the top of the wall.

He turned into an owl for even greater visual ability in low light, and he flew slowly as he tried to locate Raven's house. It was sort of off by itself on the outskirts of the city, but he wasn't sure quite where. He dropped lower in the sky and flew even more slowly until he spotted it. Raven might be there, as light was visible at one window, possibly the window that he had pulled the curtains open on.

He flew in the direction of the house, but as he approached the wall, there was a commotion below and several figures were pointing up in his general direction. Quickly he retreated into the night sky.

He morphed back into the locust and tried again from a different direction. This time he crossed over the wall undetected and made his way to Raven's house. It looked even more Gothic and spooky at night then it did in the day time. He landed on the front porch and returned to human form.

He pounded on the heavy wood door. "Raven? Raven, it's me!"

There was no answer. He pounded again. "Raven, are you in there?"

"Beast Boy?" a small voice called from the other side of the door. She did sound kind of like Timid. "How did you get here?"

"Herald transported me. I came to see if you were all right."

"You c..came here for me?" she said with an uncharacteristic stutter.

"Yes. Open the door."

"No, I can't … Please, you should go … I'm disgusting."

"Raven, what's wrong? Open the door."

"Please, just go … I don't want you to see me like this." Was that a sob he heard?

"C'mon Raven, just open the door. I won't laugh or anything, you know that. I just want to make sure you are okay."

No response.

"I had to go through a lot to get here, and I'm not leaving until I make sure that you are okay."

Still no response.

"I can break the door down if I have to…" he warned.

There was the sound of the door unlatching and it swung open. Raven stood there, with her long hair hanging well below her shoulders, and a sad look in her eyes. Although she had been wearing her hair longer in the last year, it looked like it had definitely grown and he knew that happened to her in times of stress.

He half expected to see her in a grey cloak as Timid. And indeed, Raven wasn't wearing her usual outfit, but it was much stranger than that. She was in bare feet and wore olive green gym shorts that where too small for her and a faded green school t-shirt. She did look sad though.

"Come in," she said softly as she turned her back and retreated into the dark living room, the only light being a couple of flickering candles.

Beast Boy entered and closed the door behind him. The carved wood gothic designs and wall length bookcases with gargoyles was even creepier than he had remembered.

"What happened to your clothes?" he asked.

That seemed to make her upset. "I don't want to talk about that right now."

"Is that Tamaranean dude around?"

"Who?" She seemed to have no idea what he was talking about. She sat down on the wood bench that passed for a sofa, and looked at the floor.

"Charand'r or whatever his name is."

"I haven't seen him since the day you left. I've been in the temple, meeting with the Council of Elders."

He stared at her as she sat there, having never seen her dressed like this. These must have been old clothes she had stored here from when she was maybe 12 years old. The shorts were very short and tight. The t-shirt, really a half shirt, said Woodrow Roosevelt Bulldogs, and was much looser. In fact, that is what he really noticed: how much of her breasts were exposed by the low v-neck, and her bare midriff.

But a soft sniffle caught his attention, and he saw a tear run down her cheek.

Part of him wanted nothing more than to stare at her longer, but something was very wrong here. He brutally pushed those thoughts out of his mind and sat down next to her.

"What's the matter, Raven?" He asked gently. "What has happened to you since I've been gone?"

"They've shown me what I really am," she said. "That's why they summoned me here. I'm bad. Everything I do is wrong."

"What?" he exclaimed. "That's crazy, Raven."

"It's the truth," she sighed. "My power comes from Trigon, so it's evil. I've used violence against people. And I willingly let Trigon into the world."

Her hand was on her lap and he clasped it with one of his. "**And** you battled him back – you seem to be leaving that part out. What about all the good that you do? Your healing? You use your powers to help and protect innocent people. That's hardly evil."

She shook her head, unconvinced. "No, the Council is right, I can't be trusted. I've hurt people. I've even used dark magic."

"When?"

"You know, with … Malchior." It was hard for her to even say the name.

"He tricked you," Beast Boy said angrily. "He _used_ you."

"It's my fault. I let him use me … in more ways than you know."

"It's **not **your fault!" he insisted. "I've known you for years, and I think - _on the inside_\- you are one of the smartest, kindest and most good-hearted people in the world – even if you sometimes put up a mask to hide it."

For the first time she looked into his eyes, and there was a tiny glimmer of hope.

"I think they're doing something to your mind here," he continued. "Let's just get out of here, Raven. Let's just leave right now and go home."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her blue cloak and dark leotard hanging in the corner, as if drying after being washed. But when he looked back at her, the glimmer of hope was gone.

"I can't," she said.

"Yes, you can!" he insisted. "You're a Titan. Let's get you back into your uniform – well, I guess it's not really a uniform, but your regular clothes. I'm still not sure why you're dressed that way..."

"I had to wash them … I was walking home and some people spit on me…"

"What?" His eyes widened in disbelief, and then darkened with fury, as he growled "Who did that? I swear I am going to beat the crap out of them!"

"No … I don't know who it was … and I deserve it. I am an abomination."

He stared at her, about to unleash some of his anger at her for even thinking such a thing, but he didn't. Raven wasn't herself. This place, no doubt this Collective Mind, had been brainwashing her. He had to break the influence somehow.

"Let's get you into that shielded room and let you rest a bit," he suggested.

"No, I'm fine," she mumbled.

"C'mon, Raven." He pulled on her hands and got her to stand up, then he led her over to where the secret panel was. After a minute or so of fumbling around, he got it open and with some prodding, she crawled inside and he followed.

It was dark, but he led her over to the bed and she sat down with a lifeless and defeated expression on her face. He crawled back out and brought in a candle as well as her leotard and cloak, which were almost totally dry.

"Have you been sleeping in here?" he asked.

"No, I haven't been sleeping at all. Or meditating. Or eating. All I can do is sit and the thoughts race through my head."

"Listen to me," he said as he nudged her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. "It's going to be all right. I'm going to take care of you. You change back into your clothes and I'll see if I can find you something to eat."

He crawled back out and replaced the panel. Of course, he knew that there wasn't much in the way of food in this house from his last time here, but his keen sense of smell detected something. On the kitchen counter he found Arella's pot of vegetable stew, and a wooden spoon next to it. The stew was stone cold, but it smelled like it was still edible.

Of course, Raven had no bowls, so he carried the whole pot and the spoon over to the entrance to the secret room.

He tapped on the panel. "Are you done?"

"Yes," was her meek reply.

He climbed in and replaced the panel behind him, since he imagined the room needed to be sealed to block out the telepathy.

Raven was sitting in exactly the same place on the bed, but now wore her leotard, with the cloak lying next to her.

"I'm so sorry for all the times I was mean to you," she said.

"You're not mean to me." He smiled, then added in a half joking manner, "Crabby sometimes, maybe a little difficult, but not mean."

"I hurt you once," she said. "Do you remember? We were in the kitchen and…"

"I thought we agreed never to talk about that again… besides, I said something that I shouldn't have." He looked down and didn't make eye contact with her.

"Say it again, because it's true."

"No, I won't say it again. Let's just get a little food in you, and then you rest. I'm going to get you out of here, even if I have to fly you over the wall myself."

Raven smiled weakly.

* * *

_[A/N: This is really a humongous chapter, so again I broke it up. I will post the next part within 24 hours, since I almost have it done._

_Any feedback is appreciated! ]_


	16. Demons Can Be Very Naughty

Raven sat motionless on the edge of her ornately carved wooden bed under the hood-like canopy. Beast Boy offered her the pot of stew and the spoon, but she made no effort to take them. Undeterred, he knelt on the floor at her feet and held a spoonful up to her mouth, as one might do to a child.

"Mmmm, yummy, yummy!" he joked.

She sat there with no expression on her face and didn't open her mouth.

Okay, she was a difficult child. He pulled the spoon back, then made it go around in a big circle and head back toward her mouth.

"Open up! Here comes the train going into the tunnel!"

She folded her arms and tried to give him one of her signature Raven glares that could wilt a flower, but only managed about half way. And it didn't phase him. All he thought was _Good, a little of the old Raven is coming back_. Plus, he could see the corners of her mouth turning up in the tiniest of grins.

"Choo! Choo!" he said, making old fashioned train noises as he held the spoon in front of her mouth. Her smile grew a little and she finally opened her mouth and let him feed her.

Evidently, it didn't taste too bad because she let him feed her a bit more without too much fuss, although he did have to do the train one more time.

"That's all I can eat right now," she said.

"We'll save the rest for later." He closed the pot and put it in the corner.

"Thank you," she murmured with a weak smile. "I feel better."

"Let's get you to bed."

He fluffed her pillow and she crawled back and put her head down. He covered her with her cloak as a blanket and then took off his shoes and his gloves and blew out the candle. He lay down on his side of the bed.

"Good night, Raven."

"Good night, Beast Boy."

He closed his eyes and settled in. There was a slight chill, but he decided against asking Raven to share the cloak. Thoughts filled his head. They had to get out of here. Raven was probably in no condition to teleport them yet, and might not even be _able _to do it from inside the city. He could fly her outside as a pterodactyl, but they might be seen - and there were all those demons in the fog at night. But if they went in the morning, they would be even easier to spot…

"I .. I really appreciate that you came back here for me," she whispered.

"Sure, no problem."

He became aware of a curious happy feeling inside and realized that, however nice Argent was, he had made the right decision. And soon he was asleep.

.

.

.

He awoke sometime later. Something woke him, but what?

He was a little surprised to find himself facing Raven, in fact he was spooning with her, and the cloak was covering both of them. Even more surprising was that his arm was draped over her.

_I'm not sure what happened here, but I'd better pull my arm back. She'll probably think I'm taking advantage of the situation…_

Then he realized he couldn't. She was holding his hand_._

His nose was near the base of the back of her neck, and half of her long hair was over her shoulder, so skin was exposed. His breath was blowing against her, and she seemed to be slightly shivering each time he exhaled. In fact, she made a gentle moan as if she liked it_._

Wait, was she awake?

Yes, she was. He felt her caressing his bare fingers.

"Raven?" he whispered.

Instantly she stiffened and stopped rubbing his hand. "Sorry," she said.

"No, its okay. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. I feel like a giant weight has been lift off of me. My mind feels clear again." She gave a small laugh. "It's wonderful!"

"I'm glad." He noticed she sounded quite happy – maybe she was rebounding from being so depressed earlier? Blocking that collective mind from affecting her must be working.

"I never expected that you would come back for me," she whispered.

"I had to make sure you were okay." _Because I care about you_. That last part happened in his head, but he hesitated at letting his mouth actually say it.

She gathered her thoughts and continued, "…I've been wanting to be nicer to you for a while now … Sometimes, it's just hard for me, you know? We fall back into the old familiar patterns of arguing…"

"I know."

"I was meaning to invite you into my room sometime when you knocked, or play a game with you and Cyborg, but then you stopped asking…"

"I thought I was finally taking the hint."

She rolled onto her back, so they could see each others faces in the dim light, and was still holding his hand across her stomach.

"Do you remember our last conversation, when we were walking to see Azar?"

"Yes … we were arguing," he joked.

"Did you mean what you said about spending sleepless nights thinking about me?"

He hesitated, but no point in trying to hide the truth now. "Yes, Raven, I've spent many nights thinking about you …Have you thought about me?"

"Sometimes," she said. Then she rolled so she was on her side facing him. Their faces were very close.

"Have you ever thought about lying like this with me?" he asked.

"Sometimes," she said coyly. "What about you?"

"Um … a lot."

He smiled. She smiled. And then they were softly kissing for a moment. They had to stop for him to pull a strand of her long hair out of his mouth.

"What did you mean before when you said it was 'an accident'?" he asked.

She sighed in embarrassment. "I had to say something. A feeling came over me and I just acted on it without thinking."

"And this time?"

"This time I know I want to."

They scooted closer so their bodies were pressed together as well as their mouths, though they were just kissing politely with their lips. Her free hand stroked the back of his neck and wandered up into his hair. His free hand rubbed down her side, feeling the smooth sensation of her lycra outfit, and then the even smoother skin at the top of her outer thigh…

It was very enjoyable.

But an unwelcome thought crossed his mind: She was feeling better. They could probably make their escape.

"We could probably … make it … out of here now," he said between kisses.

"Yes," she agreed.

But neither one moved.

Well, eventually they did move – but not to leave. Their lower arms were getting cramped and Raven rolled on top of him. Her body felt so warm and soft, not bony at all as his arms wrapped around her.

"You …You mean a lot to me. I've never been able to say it," she whispered as she stroked one of his pointy ears with her fingers.

Their faces were only inches apart. His excellent eyesight saw her smiling at him and her eyes sparkling, even in the semi-darkness. He knew he must have the same expression. She was beautiful when she smiled like that.

"You're so beautiful, Raven. I've wanted to do this with you for so long."

"What about this?"

She pressed her mouth against his and pushed her tongue in.

"Mmm hmmm," he agreed as their tongues intertwined and then sort of wrestled together. They explored various ways of doing this for a while.

Then Raven took a break and leaned up. She sat on his waist with her knees on either side, straddling him.

He ran his hands along her body, starting at the exposed skin at the top of her thighs, then over the fabric of her leotard at her hips and up to where her rib cage began. His hands rubbing against the fabric made sort of a purring sound. Then both hands continued upward until his palms cupped the undersides of her breasts. Without stopping, his hands rubbed over them and continued upward to her shoulders. He carefully gauged her reaction as to whether touching her like that was okay, or was going to ruin the moment.

Her slight moan told him it was quite okay. She closed her eyes and rocked her head back and he started again at her hips and slid his hands up until he was cupping her breasts again. This time his hands lingered. His thumbs rubbed in circles at the tips, and were soon assisted by his fingers.

Even through her leotard, she seemed to like that sensation. He knew he liked doing it. A lot. But he soon moved to more neutral places to touch, partly because he was still a little worried about jinxing this moment with her, and partly to back off from getting "dangerously" excited (_I wonder if she can tell?). _But he made a mental note to come back to doing his new favorite thing in a minute or two.

Raven had evidently gotten a bit more excited as well. She bent forward and kissed him passionately, and soon their tongues were dancing again. He sucked on her tongue and she murmured a laugh. Then she disengaged from his mouth and kissed the base of his throat, then dragged her tongue along his skin, licking up his throat and across his mouth and even his nose. She smiled.

"That was naughty," he kidded her.

She sat back up and, with a flick of her head, she swished her long hair. "Demons can be _very_ naughty," she said. Her voice was breathless and seemed to exude desire that had been long seeking a release.

"Hey, now, I'm just a nice boy," he said, _half _joking this time.

"Don't worry," she reassured him in her normal voice. "I'm only half demon."

"Okay, then," he smiled. "Let's get on with it."

She bent forward and kissed him softly on the mouth, stopping only briefly to once again pull out a strand of her hair that had gotten in the way. His hands caressed her back and her shoulders and neck.

She kissed his cheeks and his eyes (he closed them) and then his left ear, running her tongue around the edge and sucking on the pointed tip.

Things started to heat up again as she gently bit the top of his ear and then moved her mouth down to his throat again and she kneaded his chest with her hands.

He moved his own hands and caressed the outer sides of her breasts. She moaned and grasped the fabric of his shirt, pulling on it as if to tear it open. He eyes snapped open wide.

_Wow. She's really getting turned on. But it's no use, Raven. You can't tear it…_ He thought to himself - and there was a sudden ripping sound as his shirt did tear open. She kissed the pectoral muscles of his thin, but toned, chest.

"Raven, that was my shirt…"

"So?" she mumbled nonchalantly as she continued kissing him.

_**Boom! **_

There was a loud sound as something hit the house. They both jumped. Raven partially fell backwards as Beast Boy sat up.

"What was that?" he whispered.

They sat on the bed and listened in silence. Then there were three more loud booms and each time the frame of the house shook. Someone was hitting the front door with something heavy.

"Raven, daughter of Arella, the Council has ordered you to come out immediately!" an angry male voice called. It was Charand'r, and it sounded like there were other people with him.

* * *

_[A/N: I hope you liked the chapter. It was fun to write. _

_Next up: We start to learn what has been going on, and Beast Boy realizes Raven is in deeper trouble than he imagined. And, while the denizens of Azarath may be pacifists, he's not._


	17. Welcome To The Black Parade

Beast Boy and Raven sat upright in the bed in the secret room and listened. They could hear the murmurings of a crowd outside. Raven walked over to the wall and slid back a piece of the wood paneling to reveal a tiny peep hole where she could see what was in front of the house.

Dawn had broken a while ago. In the early morning light, she could see Charand'r standing there, holding a huge axe - it must have weighed a hundred pounds. He had his hood off and his green eyes were on fire with rage. Behind him was a group of much shorter figures, the hooded children who served as sentinels around Azar's moratorium and the temple.

Beast Boy crawled off the bed on Raven's side and took a turn looking out as well.

"What is this? What happened to all this 'non-violence'?" he asked.

"I don't know … Something is wrong." She put her cloak on and looked around for her belt or boots, but they were not there.

"We can take them!" he declared.

She shook her head. "Let me try to talk to them first."

Even after saying that, Raven instinctively tried to prepare herself by summoning her powers. But of course she couldn't within the shielding of the secret room.

"Hear me, O Daughter of Arella," Charand'r called out. "You have failed to report to the temple at dawn. You have broken contact with the Collective. Thus we must believe **you **are the agent of the demon Trigon and are most likely trying to summon him at this very moment!"

Beast Boy frowned. He looked absolutely enraged, yet he was calmly making an awkward speech. Who was he trying to convince?

Raven sighed. "Let me go out there and try to talk to them. You stay hidden. I don't think they know you're here."

"Can he shoot starbolts?"

"I don't know."

"I don't like this, Raven. Why don't I just burst out the front door as a tyrannosaurus rex and take them out…"

"Because he is at least as strong as Starfire, he can fly, and he can cut up any animal with that axe. And look at all the backup that he has." She looked into his eyes. "I don't want to see you get killed."

"Same here," he said pointedly.

"No, I'll be fine. These are my people. I can talk to them. It will be okay." Her face got hard. "Promise me, Beast Boy, that you'll stay hidden in here. Promise me!"

"Fine," he grumbled. "But I'm coming out swinging if anyone lays a hand on you."

He morphed instantaneously into a velociraptor and back again as a warm-up. It had the side effect of repairing his shirt, since it was a special fabric that could transform with him. She smiled and touched his cheek.

Then she opened the panel and crawled out. She just got it replaced and stood up when Charand'r hit the door again. The wood was about a six inches thick, but he had made a crack through it. Raven moved quickly to the far end of the room near the fireplace just as he ripped half the door off with his bare hands and entered. She felt her powers flowing again and calmed her mind to focus. The humming sound of the Collective mind was already audible.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain calm. "Such aggression is not the way of Azar."

"Forgive us, this is a time of emergency," he said as he walked in, followed by the much shorted robed figures. His voice was changing, becoming calm and soothing.

Beast Boy watched him pass by through a tiny crack at the edge of the panel. He couldn't see much, but he was listening intently for the slightest hint of the conflict escalating. And he heard the change in the tone of voice of Charand'r.

_Is this dude having major mood swings, or is something else going on here?_ Beast Boy wondered.

"Raven, if you are truly on the side of righteousness, you must stop resisting," he said gently. "You must open your mind to the Collective, and come with us to the temple." He handed the axe to the sentinels, and it took four of them to hold it.

"I don't appreciate being intimidated," she said firmly, sounding like the old Raven that Beast Boy knew.

But Charand'r deftly changed his direction. "Would you deny that there is a demon side within you?"

"Of course not."

"Yes, we both know that the demon side is in you, and is strong. Looking at your history, it has influenced your actions, yes? Caused you to hurt people?"

"I have it under control … mostly," she replied, her voice wavering slightly.

"Do you now? I wonder. I – and others – have come to believe that your heart is not really in this."

"I … I am fully committed," she insisted. "I don't want any part of my heritage."

"Then why are you still resisting?" He looked around, puzzled that she seemed more confident in herself than yesterday. "Is there someone else here with you?"

"Of course not," she said quickly.

He motioned for the others to search the house, and they fanned out to do so. "Then open your mind and allow our thoughts to enter."

Raven sighed and looked at the floor. He shoulders slumped forward as she submitted.

_Don't do it, Raven! _Beast Boy thought frantically_. Should I explode through the wall now? Should I wait? I promised her, but..._

He decided to take a middle course of action. He morphed into an ant and crawled through the seam onto the wall inside the room so he could at least see what was going on. But the poor vision of the ant wasn't helping, so he became a tiny green fly on the wall, which was better but still not great. He saw Charand'r and two of the sentinels standing close to Raven.

"Where is the book?" he asked her,

"What book?" She replied meekly.

"As we discussed yesterday, the book that you used with dark magic."

"It's dangerous..." she tried to protest.

"Have you used this book wisely? Or have you allowed evil to be done?'

"I was tricked," she mumbled, looking at the floor in shame. "I was stupid…"

"Yes, which is exactly why we must have it - to destroy it. We know you store it here, but we can't see the exact place."

Raven walked over and knelt by the table. She lifted up a floorboard and pulled out a heavy book with a white cover.

"I don't think it can be destroyed," she said as she offered it to him.

"Oh, we can destroy it," he reassured her. "First, we must go before the Council. They are waiting for you now in the temple."

The others returned after searching the house and finding nothing. Charand'r put the book under his arm and he and Raven walked out the gaping hole that had once been her front door. The rest of the robbed figures followed, carrying the axe. When it was clear, Beast Boy flew out the doorway after them.

The whole group paraded down the street toward the center of the city and the temple.

Beast Boy followed, staying high enough that he would be virtually invisible and they couldn't hear the buzzing of the fly's wings.

Only a few monks were around, some walking and others working at their jobs. Oddly, they seemed completely uninterested in the procession. In fact, Beast Boy noticed that many were not even working, but just sitting there with their heads down as if they had dozed off.

The group continued marching in silence, and the huge temple loomed before them. Beast Boy wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but he didn't feel good about it.


	18. The Temple of Azarath

The sky grew dark as heavy grey clouds drifted overhead. Lightning flashed in the distance and Azarath prepared for yet another storm. Raven led the procession and Charand'r walked next to her, guiding her and carrying the white book under his arm. She was walking in her bare feet and had her head down in shame as if he had no confidence or even any willpower to resist.

The temple loomed large in front of them and was a bit menacing with all its dark colors and tall spires on the roof. A high row of step let to the entrance, and the steps were guarded by statues of all sorts of fantastic creatures. At the top of the steps stood a figure in white, with his cloak and long grey hair billowing in the wind. It was the high priest and leader of Azarath.

As they passed the dome shaped tomb of Azar, Beast Boy noticed that no one was guarding it. The sentinels were all walking behind Charand'r. He was still a fly, and he suddenly had the strange sensation that he had landed on an orange slice and was attempting to drink drops of juice…

But he'd had this sensation of oranges before, he remember. This would happen right before he would have a vision of Azar. And sure enough, he began to see the outlines of the old woman's face forming in the air in front of him. She was trying to say something, but he couldn't hear it. It seemed to be urgent from the expression on her face, but there was no sound. Then they had passed the tomb and she faded.

As they reached the base of the steps, several sentinels bowed to the high priest and dispersed back to their posts. Raven and Charand'r climbed the long row of steps to the top, and Beast Boy flew a little higher in the sky to avoid being noticed. Drops of rain were starting to fall making it harder for him to maintain altitude.

Raven bowed to the high priest and walked past him. The sentinels pulled open the huge door to the temple and she entered. Charand'r offered the book to the high priest, and he casually took it without paying much attention. It disappeared under his white robe.

"Should not all the city be assembled here for this momentous event?" Charand'r asked.

"No," the priest answered. "We must do it quickly."

Charand'r had a puzzled expression. "But that is against the tradition…"

"Do you not realize the danger that Trigon poses? Trigon is coming and will destroy us all!"

"I am of the Royal House of Tameran," he stared to say. "I fear noth-"

Then after a moment his expression changed and his voice took on a slight tremble. "Yes, Trigon is a very great threat. Even the strong shall fear him."

That was all Beast Boy heard. He zipped through the open door to not get separated from Raven.

The interior of the temple was a cavernous room with the ceiling held up by thousands of carved wooden posts. There were no chairs, only a vast carpet on the floor that was covered with abstract designs, like the endless knot of intertwining snakes that Beast Boy had seen earlier. There were a few monks seated on the floor and meditating in silence. They all faced a structure in the center of the room.

This structure was a cube, much larger than Raven's entire house, and made of a shiny black wood and decorated with gold. It had no doors or windows, but was completely sealed on every side, and carved with all sorts of bizarre symbols. Beast Boy, who had seen all of the _Hellraiser_ movies, thought it looked a bit like a giant Lament Configuration box, but of course it had no moving parts.

Raven walked close to it and stopped with her head bowed. The high priest joined her. He turned and addressed the monks.

"Remain vigilant," he commanded. "Focus your energy. The danger from Trigon is great at this hour!"

"Yes, master," they repeated in unison.

He put his arm on Raven's shoulder and they walked toward the cube. An opening materialized in front of them and they walked through. Beast Boy darted after them and barely made it though before the wood reappeared.

The inside of the cube was much bigger than the outside. It was the size of a football stadium, and completely dark except for light in the center. In that light, eight monks sat in the lotus position, floating in the air in a half circle. The spot for a ninth was empty, probably to be taken by the high priest.

There seemed to be no ceiling, only the stars as if they were in space. The floor was a perfectly flat sheet of black stone or glass. The high priest and Raven floated over it without their feet touching as they headed toward the center of the chamber.

The high priest looked around as if he heard something in the air, and Beast Boy sensed he could easily be discovered in the silence. He decided to linger in the darkness near the edge of the room.

Raven bowed before the Council and the high priest floated over and took his place in the half circle of elders.

"Raven, daughter of Arella and daughter of Trigon the Terrible, we welcome you once again. We know that you are prepared to do what is _right_," he said.

They then began speaking softly and in the language that Beast Boy didn't understand. He wanted to morph into an eagle to better see and hear what was going on, but the flapping of an eagle's wings would give him away. However, a barn owl can fly in almost perfect silence, so he chose that form, and flew in a figure eight pattern high in the air near the entrance.

He could now see that Raven's teacher and friend Samendra was one of the council members. He sat silently and looked extremely tired. In fact, all the council members looked sort of lifeless, although they were awake and spoke occasionally. The high priest's face gave the impression that he was under great stress; in fact, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

Beast Boy wasn't sure what the purpose of this meeting was, but the high priest was doing much of the talking. He also noticed that the floor beneath Raven and the rest of the council had vanished. They were floating above a huge hole leading down to nothing. Then swirling colors appeared in the way that they did when Herald created a portal to another place.

Through the portal, he could look down on Raven's house. He could see a young Raven and Arella. The child Raven was crying and black tendrils were destroying objects around her as her mother tried to calm her down. Arella was injured and some of her hair was pulled out. Then the portal showed Gotham city and finally Titan's Tower.

The night sky behind the Council became a huge projection screen and images of Raven's life appeared. These must be coming from her mind, Beast Boy realized. Some he recognized and some he did not, and everything was from Raven's point of view which made events harder for him to recognize.

He saw glass and light bulbs breaking when she lost control of her powers or her emotions. He saw an upset Starfire standing in the hall outside Raven's room and Raven shutting the door to not talk to her. He saw Dr. Light cowering in fear as Raven gave in to her demon side, and Raven using dark magic against the mechanical heart Kardiak and almost killing a little girl.

Beast Boy realized that they were replaying for her all the failures or bad things that she had done, or perhaps thought that she had done. What was the purpose of that?

The scenes then changed to Raven and Slade, with the mark of Scath upon him. He saw himself giving her a lucky penny and then her willingly allowing Trigon to cross the dimensional barrier and enter their world.

At this point the portal below her feet looked down on a barren world of rocks and ashes. Small fires burned everywhere and a volcano in the distance belched out plumes of lava. Trigon sat on a huge throne and beings made of fire scurried about performing various tasks and following his commands.

_Is that the realm of Trigon as it is right now_? he wondered. _Are they getting ready to drop her there?_

Panicking, he tried to think of a plan. He could swoop in as a pterodactyl and catch her, but how would they get out of this chamber? He could try to attack the Council by surprise, but…

Then an opaque glass floor materialized beneath them, although Trigon's realm was still partially visible. When he looked back at Raven, there was what looked like a cup of tea floating in the air next to Raven.

Raven was crying softly and didn't want to take it.

Samendra made some sounds as if he was offering a protest, but he became silent after a prolonged stare from the high priest, who seemed to be under even more stress. His hands trembled even as his fiery blue eyes looked like they were bulging out.

Then his expression relaxed into a kind smile and he stood and walked over to Raven. He put his arm around her and together they walked back toward the place where they had entered the chamber. Beast Boy morphed into a gnat and descended to try to get as close as possible.

He hoped they would open the entrance. If they did, once they were outside, he could make a blitz attack and then grab Raven and run for it. He wasn't optimistic about their chances of escaping, but it looked like the only chance they had. He flew as fast as possible and prepared to morph into the Beast once they were clear of the cube.

The high priest waved his hand and the opening appeared. He held Raven's hand and the two of them walked out. Beast Boy zipped through behind them. He made a quick look around to see what the opposition was, but there were only a few monks meditating with their eyes closed. No sign of Charand'r.

Then he was blinded by a flash of purple light right in front of him. When he could see again, he realized they were gone.

The high priest had teleported, and taken Raven away with him. And to where?

Frantically, Beast Boy flew all around in the temple looking for them. _This guy sure has a lot of powers _he thought idly_. _

They were nowhere to be found. He morphed to a dragon fly for greater speed and circled the enormous room, but they were not there. When a monk opened the outer door, he flew out behind him.

The plaza outside the temple was deserted and a heavy rain was pouring down. There were a few sentinels standing next to the temple but no sign of Raven. Lightning flashed close by and the thunder roared. A sick feeling was forming in his stomach. He had failed. They were doing something to her, something bad, and he had failed to protect her.

The polished wood dome of Azar's tomb glistened in the pouring rain. Beast Boy desperately hoped that maybe she could help him. He morphed into a sparrow and darted though the rain to the tomb.

There were sentinels on either side, but they were huddled against the rain and not watching carefully. He saw the arched entrance and beyond it a stairway leading down into darkness. Fog drifted up from the stairway.

The wet sparrow flew in and landed on the top step. Then he transformed back into human form and walked down into the fog and darkness.

* * *

_A/N: I forgot to mention that Beast Boy is a little nervous about walking down into the tomb, but it is his only chance. And I think he's going to finally find some answers. Also, some people are wanting a battle, and that is coming for sure in the next chapter!_


	19. Release The Beast

Beast Boy walked down the dark and fog shrouded steps into Azar's tomb. Funny how no one called it a tomb – Raven had referred to it as a "moratorium" where one could still speak to Azar. The temperature was getting much colder and his exhaled breath was coming out as a mist that mingled with the fog.

Half expecting to come face to face with a cobweb covered skeleton—or something worse—he followed a short tunnel and entered a circular chamber. Strange symbols were carved into the wood paneled walls and a dim light was glowing from within the wood itself. The chamber was completely empty.

"Um, hello?" he called out. "I need help to find Raven…"

"Yes, I know," spoke a voice. An apparition materialized of an old woman with long silver hair and penetrating eyes. "She is in danger. I can show you what is happening, but I have no power to interfere or send you there."

A green hill with colorful flowers appeared before them. Butterflies fluttered about and there was a rainbow in the background. He thought it looked vaguely like the realm of Happiness that he'd seen on the journey into Raven's mirror. Maybe this was someone else's version of that place...

"Something has entered the Collective Mind," Azar continued. "A powerful force has corrupted it. I can no longer communicate with the Brotherhood, although I can sometimes touch the minds of people who are not part of the mainstream, like Arella."

"What is it?" Beast Boy asked.

"I can't see what it is exactly," she replied. "A powerful dark entity ... yet not like a demon."

For a moment the hill of flowers disappeared and there was a dark shape surrounded by twirling strands of fire. It looked just like one of the abstract paintings he had seen on Arella's wall…

Then the hill reappeared and now the high priest and Raven were standing on it and facing each other. He had his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"My sweet Raven, you have tried so hard. But we both know you can't escape your destiny," the high priest said.

"Locrian has been overshadowed by this force," Azar explained. "Through him, it has spread throughout the Collective. He has blinded everyone."

Beast Boy realized that Locrian must be the actual name of the high priest.

The priest continued speaking in a kind voice as Raven looked at the ground. "You are fundamentally tainted with evil. Everything you do will only turn out wrong. Anyone who tries to love you will be crushed by suffering."

"But…" Raven timidly tried to protest.

"Trust the ones who have taught you since your youth," he advised. "Everyone else you've ever loved has abandoned you. Your mother believes it is more important to do yet another pilgrimage than to be here with you now. What you have feared is true - she has always been ashamed of you. And Azar is ashamed of you…"

"Liar!" Azar hissed but, of course, neither he nor Raven could hear her.

"Your surrogate family of the Teen Titans doesn't really want someone like you."

"Beast Boy…?" she murmured.

Locrian shook his head sadly. "The green one, Beast Boy, will wake up and realize just what you really are inside. He will never love you. You know in your hear that he will abandon you, and you will be alone forever."

He reached out his hand and gently lifted her chin so she looked into his beautiful blue eyes. "In death you will find honor. Trust the wisdom of the Council. Let your last deeds be the best of you."

"The taking of one's life does no one honor!" Azar's raspy voice called in outrage, but no one heard.

Beast Boy growled helplessly. "Tell me how to get to her!" he demanded.

"There is nothing we can do," Azar sighed. "We can only wait from them to return to this plane of existence."

Now Locrian produced the heavy white book and set it on the ground. "Do you remember this book which caused you to do evil? Destroy it. Remove any enchantments you have on it and then you can destroy it."

"I cursed Malchior to remain trapped inside," she mumbled meekly. "Won't that release him?"

Locrian sighed gently. "You didn't trap him very well - his physical form may be trapped, but his spirit is still free to roam. Another of your failures, I'm afraid. It's all not your fault. You didn't fully understand the curse."

She hesitated as she looked uncertain and depressed.

"Go ahead," he encouraged her. "If you, of your own choice, wish the book to incinerate, it **will** **be** incinerated, all imperfect enchantments nullified, and that ancient dragon will be consigned to oblivion. I can't do it for you..."

She stretched out her hand and the book was engulfed in blue flames. Raven heard a howl as if something was being burned alive, although Beast Boy only heard the flames. The fire grew much larger and hotter and changed to different colors as the book was reduced to cinders. Finally it exploded with a shower of burning embers flying everywhere.

"Very good," Locrian said quietly. "You have done this minor thing correctly and with honor. Now there is only one more. I wish I could take your place, but again only you can do it. Let us return to the inner sanctum and get it over with."

"Yes," Raven said weakly as the flowers on the hill wilted and died. The butterflies fell to the ground.

"Do you know Raven's power is stronger when Trigon is near?" Azar urgently demanded of Beast Boy.

That seemed completely irrelevant at this moment, but he recalled how Robin said she had stopped time, and he himself had observed how powerfully she had battled Slade and finally Trigon.

"Yes…" he said.

"Do you believe she is actually evil inside?" she asked quickly.

"No," he said firmly as the figures of Raven and Locrian vanished

"Then go!" Azar shouted, but Beast Boy was already running up the steps.

He bounded out of the tomb and into the pouring rain as a cheetah. The sentinel Jerichana turned to look just as he plowed into her. She fell on her butt into a puddle with the wind knocked out of her.

Running at full speed, he bolted up the temple steps and pounced on another guard. He remembered what Raven had said earlier and avoided looking into his eyes. He knocked the boy down, but didn't use his teeth or claws to inflict serious harm.

Soon a hum was echoing throughout his head and rapidly getting louder. They were trying to use their mental powers to immobilize him as they had before. He shifted into a chimpanzee and the humming went silent. The chimp leapt over and punched another sentinel in the stomach which disabled him.

There was still the matter of the heavy temple door which was locked. The chimp morphed into a gorilla and pulled on it. The wood creaked and shuddered but it wouldn't open. Then the gorilla began to hear the humming, and he put his hands over his ears. Time was running out to get to Raven…

He morphed into the Beast and with a howl of rage he ripped the door off its hinges and threw it in the general direction of some sentinels who were running up the steps and they dove out of the way.

The Beast burst into the temple. Stunned monks jumped to their feet as he roared. Then he grabbed one of the many pillars and pulled on it with all his might. It broke free and he swung it like a baseball bat, shattering other pillars and driving the monks back and keeping them from concentrating.

Many monks ran for the open doorway but one assumed a posture of focusing his energy. The Beast charged and cuffed him with the back of his hand which knocked him out.

There was no sign of Raven. He realized that she was probably already inside the cube. How was he going to open it?

As he struggled for an idea, he heard a sound behind him and turned. Charand'r stood in the entrance to the temple. He carried the huge axe that Beast Boy had seen earlier. It wasn't an axe for chopping down trees; it had the long curved blade of an executioner's axe.

With a warrior's yell, and the axe drawn back to strike, Charand'r rushed the green Beast.


	20. Out In The Open

Charand'r charged across the open expanse of the temple with lightening speed, wielding the heavy axe as easily as if it were made out of cardboard. Evidently he had reverted to the warrior code of Tameran rather than the more "non-violent" ways of Azarath.

The Beast's eyes widened as he realized the danger. The blade whizzed through the air at his head. But the Beast vanished, and in his place was a tiny green gnat that was only buffeted by the swirling air. The axe crashed into a pillar and cut right through it, breaking out the other side in a spray of splinters, and then embedding itself in the floor. Part of the high temple ceiling began to sag inward from so many posts being broken in the same area.

Charand'r looked around in confusion as he tried to dislodge the axe. What happened? Where had his prey gone?

A green gorilla appeared to the side of him and struck him in the face. A human would have been knocked to the floor, but Charand'r's head only snapped back momentarily. The gorilla tried to grab the axe handle away from him, but he shoved the gorilla back. He got the axe head out of the floor and advanced.

Beast Boy jumped back as the swinging blade grazed his chest. He ducked behind another post as Charand'r swung again. This Tamarean was just too fast and too strong for any of his animal forms as long as he had that weapon, and any large animal was too large of a target.

He morphed into a squirrel and scampered up another pillar, always staying on the opposite side from Charand'r as he circled around. Charand'r quickly grew enraged at this and chopped through the pillar with another massive swing of the axe. The 40 foot long pillar broke free from the ceiling and crashed to the ground.

Beast Boy jumped off as he morphed into a humming bird and staying up near the ceiling. But Tamareans can also fly, and Charand'r soared up after him. They raced all around the upper reaches of the temple, with Beast Boy having the advantage of better maneuverability, but Charand'r having greater speed in a straight line and more raw power.

He swung the axe with one hand, gouging out chunks of wood from the supporting pillars and arched beams, and periodically used his other hand to try to grab the bird when he turned. At least he wasn't using the energy beams from his eyes. Beast Boy wasn't sure why not; maybe only Starfire and Blackfire could do that? Maybe only female Tamareans? He didn't know the answer but he was glad, whatever the reason.

Then Beast Boy caught a break. The axe head got temporarily stuck in a beam. Facing away from Charand'r, he morphed into a horse and kicked him square in the chest. Of course, the horse also fell like a stone, but that kick made solid contact. Charandr fell all the way and hit the ground. Unfortunately, he had just pulled out the axe and still had that in his hand. He landed hard near the side of the cube, and one of the few remaining monks in the temple had to jump out of the way. The monk seemed shocked by this fight right in front of him, even though all the monks trained in martial arts. Evidently, in keeping with their pacifist ways, it was more of a mental discipline for them. Charand'r got to his feet and shoved the monk out of his way seeing how he was useless for practical matters.

Beast Boy transformed into a butterfly momentarily to avoid hitting the ground hard, then charged as the Beast. His clawed hand hit Charand'r's shoulder, and that did some damage, but then Charand'r got the axe back into fighting position and he had to retreat from the swings. The Beast soon had his back against the gigantic cube.

"I have you now, demon!" Charand'r cried.

Charand'r swung the axe and the Beast ducked with his own quick reflexes. The blade grazed the hairs on the top of his head and hit the side of the cube with full force. But instead of cutting into the cube, there was an explosion of colored light and the axe head and part of the handle shattered as if they were made of glass. Evidently, a powerful enchantment protected the cube from damage. The shockwave knocked both Beast Boy and Charand'r to the ground next to each other, and Beast Boy was reverted to his human form for a moment.

They struggled to their feet, with Charand'r rubbing his eyes from the blinding flash. Then Beast Boy made a mistake. He should have immediately returned to Beast form and attacked, but he realized that Charand'r thought he was a demon, and would be quite shocked if he saw it was actually Beast Boy he was fighting. So he remained in human form and Charand'r was indeed shocked when his vision cleared.

"It's you?!"

Taking advantage of the surprise, Beast Boy stepped in and made a perfect karate punch into his solar plexus. His fist would have gone through a wall, but Charand'r only made a small grunt. That was when Beast Boy realized this had been a mistake.

Charand'r grabbed his wrist and then his other arm. Quickly he morphed into the largest gorilla he could and tried to tear loose, but Charand'r was too strong. As the grip became bone crushing, he morphed to the Beast and broke free using all of his strength.

The Beast's instincts were to fight with raw force, rather than technique, and when he swung on Charand'r, the well-trained Tamarean blocked it and caught his arm. The he slung the Beast around and threw him across the room.

Beast Boy realized that his best strategy was to keep changing forms to keep his opponent guessing. He had become a ferocious alien animal the one time he was on Tamaran, but he couldn't quite figure out that form now under the stress of the situation. And he didn't have much time. Charand'r ran at him. He became a Bengal tiger. The tiger leapt to the side and gave Charand'r a painful swipe with his paw.

Nonetheless, Charand'r whirled around and grabbed the tiger. Beast Boy became a mosquito to elude his grasp, but now the Tamarean was wise to this trick, too. He tried to grab the mosquito out of the air. Beast Boy had to dive and turn many times to escape. He flew far across the room while Charand'r was still hunting for him where they had been.

Beast Boy had a new idea. He became a horned antelope and changed at full speed with his head down. Charand'r saw him coming. He smiled as he prepared to pivot and grab the antelope and rip it apart.

At top speed and a couple feet away from Charand'r, he wasn't an antelope any more. He was a triceratops. The massive blow sent Charand'r flying into the back wall, and he was out cold.

Beast Boy skidded to a stop as he became his human form again. He grabbed the monk who was hiding behind a pillar.

"Where's Raven?" he demanded.

"In..In there…" he stuttered as he indicated the cube.

Beast Boy twisted the tall young man's arm behind his back and marched him over to the place where he had seen an entrance appear before.

"Open it!"

"No! Trigon will come without the unity of the temple!"

Beast Boy stepped around to the front of the man and grabbed his collar. He yanked so hard that the monk fell to his knees and Beast Boy got right in his face.

"_**Fuck**_ Trigon! It's me you'd better start worrying about."

The man whimpered something and Beast Boy continued his threat.

"If anything happens to Raven, I'm going to rip this whole temple down. _Now open it_! "

The monk made the incantation and the opening appeared. Beast Boy threw him down and rushed inside.

In the huge dark chamber, he saw the council floating in their half circle and completely motionless. He saw Raven sitting where she had been before them, but not floating, and her head was hanging oddly to the side. The cup of tea had fallen from her hand and shattered on the floor.

Forgetting caution, he sprinted to her. He grabbed her and pulled her hood off. Her eyes were glazed over and unresponsive. She was still breathing though.

"What have you done?" he shouted at the council.

There was only silence. He noticed that they were all sitting with their eyes closed and slumping, as if asleep. No, not all of them. The high priest Locrian was sitting with his eyes open and smiling, but just staring blankly into space. Then his head slumped forward too.

There was the sound of laughter, deep and throaty. It echoed throughout the chamber.

"Hello, Beast Boy. I rather thought you'd be off playing stank ball."

A set of red eyes appeared in the darkness behind the council. Then it became apparent that there was a shape there. A huge black shape with wings.

"Malchior!" Beast Boy cried. "Wait … I saw you burned up…"

"You _saw_ that?" There was a bit of surprise in the dragon's voice. "Well, dear boy, what you saw was me being released. That was the plan from the beginning. It was only sweet Raven who thought I was being destroyed. And now I shall never be trapped again."

"I don't care about that," Beast Boy said. "You got what you wanted. Let Raven go."

"I don't think so." Malchior smiled and showed his enormous teeth. "I have all my power back. I rule Azarath now. And soon I will rule your world as well."

"So why do you need to kill Raven?"

The dragon paused thoughtfully. "I suppose I don't ... True, she is the only living person with knowledge of the ancient curse, but the enchanted book is now destroyed. And true, she is the Gem that can bring Trigon over, but that would be the end of your entire civilization. Of course, even if I did release her mind now, I doubt she could heal herself at this point."

"So do it!" Beast Boy pleaded.

"Wait! I know what the reason is," he laughed and snapped the fingers of his clawed hand. "I just don't like her."

Beast Boy growled as rage filled him.

Malchior was still overcome with joy at being released, and the brilliance of his plan, and of course, his own arrogance.

"I see you have defeated the temple guards," he remarked. "You know, once I possessed Locrian, I had them all replaced with children, because children are more easily controlled. Ah, well..." The dragon shrugged his massive shoulders as if he didn't care. "And I see you defeated the obedient Tamarean ... Pity, he was so much more pliable than the others."

Beast Boy morphed into the Beast and glared at him.

"Lad, now **that** is a brave idea." Condescension dripped from his words. "But if it's what you want, let's have a go, shall we?"

The Beast sprang from his crouched position and flew over the comatose council members and at the dragon's throat.

Malchior smiled.

* * *

_Beast Boy has been successful so far, but this fight will be far tougher. And how can Raven be saved? Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion in next 1 or 2 chapters. And let me know what you think of the story! It is the longest one I have ever done._


	21. A Desperate Gamble

The Beast leapt at Malchior's long neck as he floated in the air with his wings outstretched. When he got close, Malchior effortlessly batted him out of the way with a strand of dark magic, sending him sailing across the huge chamber. The dragon was merely playing with him.

Malchior opened his mouth and an orange ball of fire formed, then a jet of fire shot in Beast Boy's general direction. He morphed into a hummingbird and dived out of the way. Malchior shot a few more streams of fire at Beast Boy, although he wasn't trying his best to hit him. The hummingbird flew erratically and attempted to retreat into the cover of darkness.

At some point, Malchior lost sight of him, but he wasn't too worried. The changeling posed no real threat to him. He turned his attention back to Raven as she sat motionless on the floor. The only sound was her breathing, which was louder now. This was his revenge for her imprisoning him, and revenge tasted sweet.

Beast Boy shifted into an owl and silently glided as he circled around behind Malchior.

After a moment of gloating, Malchior turned his attention back to finding Beast Boy. However, Beast Boy had now found him. The owl glided in silently from behind his head and then, as the Beast, pounced on his back just above his left wing. The Beast tried to dig his claws in, but the dragon was protected by scales. Nonetheless, he did manage to penetrate in at least one place, and he tried to bite into the base of the dragon's neck.

With a howl of surprise and pain, Malchior grabbed him with tendrils of dark magic and threw him off. This time he threw the Beast about ten times harder than before and he went flying over Raven's head and all the way into the front wall of the room. The impact would have killed any human, but the Beast was more resilient.

"Well played," Malchior conceded. "But now I'm going to end you."

As the Beast was getting up from the floor, the dragon glided in for the kill, with his massive wings fully extended. He didn't actually use them to fly; he just liked the menacing look they produced. A huge glowing ball of fire built up in his mouth and he unleashed it.

The Beast jumped fifty feet into the air, but the stream of fire followed him. As his fur was being synged, he morphed into a tardigrade. This bizarre micro animal can survive fantastic extremes of heat and cold and even radiation. The super heated air created a current which lifted him high and he slowly drifted down. He was so small as to be invisible.

Malchior could sense he was still alive even if he couldn't see him, and he knew what must have happened. He flew around in a search pattern looking for some type of animal.

"I know you're here," Malchior said. "You may be some tiny animal that can elude my eyes and ears, but I can sense your thoughts. That's one thing I've learned from controlling the collective mind of Azarath."

"_Can you sense this?"_ Beast boy said in his mind.

"_Yes,_" was Malchior's snarling reply.

As the dragon passed slowly underneath him, the tardigrade morphed into a fairyfly, possibly the world's smallest flying insect, and he flew down into the small wound he had made earlier. He entered the dragon's body as an amoeba.

"_Then release Raven and heal her, and I might let you live."_

"_While my abilities are, of course, far superior to anything that you can imagine, I never bothered to learn how to heal anyone except myself. And I have no intention of releasing Raven's mind."_

The amoeba floated down a vein which would eventually lead him to the dragon's heart. The purple blood was likely toxic to him, but Beast Boy didn't care. He just had to survive long enough to carry out his plan.

"_Now, where are you…_?" Malchior muttered as he searched the air around him. "_I know you're close" _

"_Very close."_

"_Wait a minute…!" A momentary look of panic appeared in the dragon's eyes. "You're __**inside**__ of me?"_

"_Let her go because I'm about to expand into a very large dinosaur. I don't think you're going to be able to heal yourself from that_."

Malchior thought desperately for some spell in some book that he that he had read that would extract Beast Boy, but there was none. No ancient wizard or magical creature had ever faced a situation quite like this before.

"_Last chance. Release her_!"

Realizing that he had no choice, Malchior did so. Raven's mind then cleared. She became aware of her surroundings and saw the dragon floating above her. But she was so weak the only think she could do was slump backwards and lie flat on the floor.

"_I did it_," Malchior growled. "_Now get out_!"

Beast Boy saw the images from Malchior's mind of Raven waking up, but he didn't know if it was real or an illusion.

"_Heal her_!" he demanded.

"_I told you I can't_!"

"_Then I hope you liked the chest bursting scene in movie 'Alien', because you're about to reenact it_."

Malchior hadn't seen any movies, but he got the idea. However, he made an alternative proposal.

"_If you kill me, I will incinerate Raven with my last thought. Now get out! I give you my word of honor that I won't attack you. In fact, I'm going to leave. There is something I need to do now anyway."_

Beast Boy hesitated. He didn't exactly trust him.

"_I know how weak and sentimental you are_," Malchior continued. "_Unless you want to see me burn her alive right now, you'll leave my body without doing any damage. I give you my word I won't attack either of you if you do._"

After a moment of angst, Beast Boy emerged from a cracked scale on the dragon's chest and flew down to Raven as a bird. He knelt next to her and returned to human form. He fully expected what was going to happen next, and he took her hand.

Malchior laughed. "How sweet! But I forgot to mention one thing. I'm a bit of a liar…"

A flaming ball formed in his mouth. Beast Boy braced for the inevitable.

Then the fire faded.

"No. That is too easy," he said. "I know the limits of Raven's powers. While I go to purify myself after my captivity, you can struggle in vain and shed your precious tears. And then I'll return and put you out of your misery."

Summoning a huge ball of purple energy, Malchior blasted a hole in the wall of the cube where the entrance had been. He then flew out into the temple. A handful of monks scattered in terror before him and he shot fire at them. He broke through the temple roof and flew out into wind and pouring rain.

As he passed over the tomb of Azar, he unleashed a blast of fire which incinerated the dome shaped structure and left only smoking ruins and steam from the boiling water. He then flew high up the mountain and dived into the mouth of the volcano.

Beast Boy knelt by Raven's side.

"Hold on, Raven," he pleaded.

She opened her eyes a little. "Beast Boy? You're here?"

"I'm here, Raven. I'm right here. We'll get help. You're going to be okay."

"No," she said. Her voice sounded like Timid again. "It's too late for that. But it's for the best anyway."

Beast Boy cradled her head in his hands. "No, Raven! Don't say that. You can still heal yourself if you try."

"He tricked me, and he used me again," she said sadly. "But he told the truth this time. I've tried and tried to change things, but I'm a curse to anyone who tries to get close to me. I'm meant to die alone and unloved. Let's just get it over with…" She closed her eyes.

"That's not true. Raven! Raven, listen to me… Do you remember the fight that we had that time in the kitchen? Do you remember?"

"What does that matter now?" she mumbled without opening her eyes.

"We were sort of teasing each other … You said something about I'd never find a girlfriend if I didn't stop acting so immature. And I said, … um, well, … I said that no one would ever fall in love with you because you were so cold and strange…"

"It's the truth," she said.

"No, it's not the truth," he insisted. "Because I … I am in love with you."

Raven opened her eyes. She looked at him and a tear fell from her eye, followed soon by one more. She made an attempt to smile. Then her eyes closed and the sound of her breathing became much more faint.

"Raven!" Beast Boy cried.

There was no response.

At that moment, Arella entered though the shattered wall where Malchior had broke out.

"My daughter!" she screamed. "Raven!"

She ran over to them and put her hands on her child.

"Is she … dead?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"Not yet," he replied. "But we need to find someone who can help her and quick."

"Azar said **you** are the one," Arella said.

Beast Boy stared at her in disbelief. The woman really was crazy.

"She appeared to me when I was on the pilgrimage," Arella continued. "She told me to return and to get this from Raven's house."

Arella pulled Raven's meditation mirror out of her robe and placed it on Raven's forehead.

"I know I've failed at being a good mother. I never know what to do or what to say. But, please, don't let my daughter die!"

Beast Boy again looked at Arella in disbelief and then glanced down at the mirror. It immediately sucked him inside.


	22. An Unexpected Ally

_Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I hope you like it!_

* * *

Beast Boy once again found himself falling through darkness. This time he was surrounded by a strange smoke or mist that was bitterly cold and stung the exposed skin on his face. He landed hard on an island of rock floating in space. Some of the surroundings were familiar – he had been here once before with Cyborg. It was a physical representation of Raven's mind, a land where her various emotions had been given form so she could understand and come to terms with them.

Nevermore.

Now it was different. The icy haze which filled the air which made it difficult to see very far. His breath came out in white clouds.

Rocks floated haphazardly at different levels. The black birds with four red eyes - which had menaced him before - now merely floated unconscious in the air, or lay on the ground and made croaking sounds. Beast Boy looked around in vain for any of Raven's emoticlones. There was no one.

He tried to leave the rock that he was floating on, but no other rocks came for form a path. He morphed into an eagle and flew through the haze looking for someone.

There was the outline of a larger island of rock in the distance and it looked like there were some colored figures on it. When he got close he saw that they were all of Raven's clones, huddled together in a circle. Some were sitting but most were lying down.

He landed and returned to human form.

The grey one, Timid, looked up at him with fear in her eyes, although it wasn't Beast Boy that she was afraid of. He saw there were many more emoticlones than he remembered. The pink one, Happiness, was slumped on the ground and unconscious, as was Bravery in green and an orange one that he didn't know the name of.

A yellow one with glasses was rocking back and forth and sometimes gesturing in the air as if she was desperately trying to think, desperately trying for formulate a plan, but her thoughts were scattered and incoherent. He also noticed a purple one who was still awake and staring at him with what seemed to be longing in her eyes. He didn't recall ever seeing her before. She moved her mouth to say something, but couldn't speak.

Timid was the only one that was fully awake and able to function.

"Beast Boy," she said in a small voice.

He knelt and put his arm around her. "It's going to be all right," he said.

"No." She shook her head sadly. "This is the end."

He shook his head. "You've got to fight it! Use your power and heal yourself."

"Too weak…" she said.

"You can all join forces. I've seen it before. You can all join together…"

"We can't."

"What about the red one, the demon part of Raven? Where is she?"

"She's locked in her domain – as always."

"We need to get her. This affects all of you. If you can't do it without her, then we need to get her. Come on, I'm not giving up, and neither are you!"

"No. Too dangerous. She belongs to our father, Trigon."

He looked as Knowledge also slumped over into unconsciousness. Time was running out.

"Listen, Azar said something to me that I didn't really understand before," Beast Boy said. "Something about the closer Trigon is, the more powerful Raven can become. We need her now."

She hesitated. Not surprisingly, she was afraid.

"Trust me." He lifted her chin and looked into her frightened eyes. "Raven, you _know_ you can trust me."

With a nod, Timid stood up and took hold of his hand. She led him to the edge of the rock and they jumped off.

They landed on a huge black rock and kicked up dust from their impact. No, not dust - it was soot. The whole rock was charred and blackened, and small fires burned in crevices. It was warmer here, but the air smelled foul, like burning sulphur.

There was a stone archway in front of them and jagged thorns grew out of it. Through the arch, they could see a red cloaked figure sitting on the ground. She was chained to a tall post and had a heavy metal collar around her neck and shackles on her wrists. Her head was slumped down and she didn't appear to notice them.

"We call her Rage," Timid explained in a whisper.

"So this is where all of Raven's anger comes from?"

"No, we can get annoyed or irritated on our own."

"Yeah, I know," he said dryly.

"But she is pure rage. Mindless, unreasoning hatred. She worships Trigon and hates everything else... Be careful!"

They walked through the archway, being careful not to cut themselves on the thorns. There was a circle etched in the blackened stone. Evidently that was the edge of how far the chain would let her get from the post.

"Die. Die. Die." Rage murmured to herself. "Kill you all. Make you suffer."

Beast Boy remembered how he and Cyborg had seen a huge apparition of Trigon the last time. Now she looked more like Raven herself – maybe she was slowly becoming more humanized? She didn't have the hooves of a goat, as her father did, but she still had horns and the four burning red eyes. He noticed sores on her neck from struggling against the rusty iron collar.

"What do **you** want?" She growled at Timid, who promptly hid behind Beast Boy. "Isn't it enough that you've killed us?"

"Can you heal Raven?" Beast Boy asked.

"Why would I want to do **that**?" she spat back at him. "She's the one who chains me here."

"Because you _**are**_ part of Raven," he shouted back at her. "Because if she dies, you die. There isn't much time. You're the one who can fight back!"

"I can't do anything unless I am released," she said calmly.

"Then we will release you."

"No!" Timid cried from behind Beast Boy. "No! She'll bring Trigon."

"Yes, unlike you, I serve Trigon," Rage declared proudly. "I **will** open the portal. He knows what is best for this world. His discipline will root out the weak and bring a new order. His way is righteous."

"Unchain her," he told Timid

"No…" she whimpered.

"Trust me. Please, it's the only way."

Timid reluctantly held out her hand and a huge metal key appeared. Beast Boy took the key and, swallowing his own fear, walked over to Rage. She quietly smiled, as if she were a vicious dog about to feast on a fresh piece of meat. But she had the cunning to remain perfectly still until he unchained her.

"You open the portal and summon Trigon," he told her. "Azar said that Raven's power is stronger the closer he is. When he gets near, you'll be able to heal yourself. Then … um … you push him back and shut the portal."

"That doesn't seem like a good plan…!" Timid cried. Even Beast Boy was aware of how foolish his hastily improvised idea sounded when said out loud.

"Yes, of course," Rage agreed in a rational tone of voice. "I see now that is the best way."

Beast Boy put the key into the lock on the collar and it clattered to the stone floor and simultaneously the shackles fell off her wrists. Rage smiled at him and looked into his eyes for a moment.

Then she hit him.

Beast Boy went flying backwards out of the circle. Rage howled with delight and Timid ran for cover behind the arch. Rage sent a blast of fire after her which scorched her grey clothing. Then she pounced on Beast Boy and lifted him up by his throat.

"I'm not going to close anything!" She gleefully announced. "I'm going to bring my father into this world to purify it." Then she threw him backwards to the ground. "But first I'm going to have some fun with you and that scaredy-cat bitch."

"Fine. You want to waste your last moments pounding on me? Do it!" he replied. "But not the face, 'cause that's how I makes me money." He said the last part in a fake British accent.

Dumbfounded by this stupid statement, Rage looked at him. Then, after a moment, she rolled her eyes just the way Raven would.

"What in the world does Raven see in you?" she grumbled to no one in particular. But she stopped attacking.

"You need to open the portal **now**," he told her.

"I will bring Trigon through," she warned him.

"I'd rather risk that than lose Raven," he told her. "But Trigon will kill all the people in your life. Your teachers in Azarath, your mother Arella, … even me."

Rage hesitated for a moment and didn't seem to have an answer to that.

"Time for you to go," she said finally as she summoned the energy to expel him from Nevermore.

Beast Boy stood up.

One last thing occurred to her. "Why does Raven hate me so much?" she asked softly.

"I think she's afraid of you," he replied.

Then Beast Boy was engulfed in a tidal wave of heat and colors and he found himself back in the real world and lying on the black glass floor that was the interior of the cube. Arella was still there and she was holding Raven's unconscious head across her lap.

He noticed that the three of them were alone in the huge chamber. The council members were no longer floating in the center. What had happened while he had been gone?

Raven's eyes snapped open and a fiery red glow poured out. Two more eyes opened on her forehead and she sat up. Arella jumped back in shock.

Raven, or rather Rage, tried to get up but realized that she didn't have enough energy to stand. Her body was failing fast. She stretched out her arms and made an incantation deep in her throat in a language that wasn't of Earth or Azarath.

The floor in the center of the room became transparent and once again they were looking down on Trigon's domain. He sat on his throne of stone and metal and then looked up as a region opened in the sky above him.

With a shout of unexpected pleasure, his huge body stood and then he began to fly upward towards the opening. An army of his flaming minions quickly gathered and came behind him.

* * *

_A/N: There, I even managed to squeeze in one more cliffhanger! But there is one more chapter to go, and I will do my best to wrap up this story this week.  
_


	23. What Happens in Azarath Stays in Azarath

As Trigon rose from the depths of his domain, the weird glow of dark energy flooded out through the open portal. Rage stretched out her arms and cried out in ecstasy as it washed over her and she absorbed it.

The surge in power made her able to reverse the damage done by the poison and begin to heal herself. Within moments she was strong enough to stand.

"Come, Father!" Rage cried as she outstretched her hand. "Come into this world!"

"Raven, no!" Arella pleaded.

Then there was the sound of the flapping of huge wings. Malchior had returned. He may have not needed the wings to fly but he was using everything he had now, in his haste to get back and deal with this dangerous new situation.

The black dragon flew into the cube with his scales clean and glistening and still trailing smoke from his time inside the volcano. He was fully revived and his strength was at its maximum. He saw his worst fears realized with the open portal into Trigon's realm and the demon lord himself rising to pass through it.

But he still had the element of surprise, and Malchior struck first. He shot a quick bolt of purple lightning at Rage, which knocked her to the ground. Then he turned his attention to his real opponent.

He unleashed a blast of fire from his mouth, encased in the purple and black aura of his particular brand of magic. The blast came straight down on Trigon, who was quite unprepared for this attack or this enemy. Trigon emitted a deafening scream of rage as he was knocked back and fell all the way to the ground.

A group of Trigon's soldiers dodged the blast from Malchior and attempted to swarm him. Malchior was able to block their attacks and, one by one, he snuffed out their fire. This revealed a charred skeleton which quickly turned to dust.

Beast Boy turned into a peregrine falcon and flew up into the darkness. He climbed higher and higher to get above Malchior but still remain unseen.

Arella helped Raven back to her feet, but she was still Rage. With a hiss she slapped Arella back.

Trigon was flying upward toward the portal again with grim determination. He unleashed his own bolts of black lightning at Malchior, who had to use all his power to shield himself. Soon Malchior was desperately blasting all his power in a fire stream at Trigon, who was directing his own torrent of dark energy up at Malchior. The point where the two streams met was a blinding, white hot fireball.

It was a stalemate for a while, then Trigon slowly began overpowering Malchior and rising up toward the portal. His huge hands and arms came though, then his head as he pushed Malchior back.

"Azarath is mine!" he growled triumphantly.

Beast Boy was high above Malchior now, and he dove at the full speed of the fastest bird on earth. He was moving at over two hundred miles an hour when he was about to hit him. Then he instantaneously became a blue whale.

The tremendous impact sent Malchior hurtling downward and knocked him into Trigon. Both went flying down through the portal. Beast Boy narrowly avoided going down with them, but he morphed into a sparrow and changed direction.

"Close it, Raven!" he shouted, as he momentarily became human again in mid air, then returned to bird form to stop falling.

Rage stood and outstretched her arms. "Father!" she cried.

Trigon recovered from the blow more quickly than Malchior, and Trigon shoved him out of the way and began flying toward the portal again as fast as he could.

Beast Boy landed on the floor in human form and ran to Raven. "Raven, you've got to close it! Please!"

Arella grabbed one of her hands and clutched it in both of hers. "_Please_, Raven."

Trigon was streaking upward and was almost to it when the portal vanished and the floor became solid again. There was no crash, only silence.

Arella and Beast Boy both embraced Raven. When they looked at her face, Rage was gone and she was Raven again. All three hugged for a while longer, and then Raven became self conscious at all these tender emotions being openly displayed. In her characteristic way, she sighed and rolled her eyes.

.

.

.

Later, they were gathered in the temple outside of the cube. The cube had repaired itself, and it looked just as pristine as when Beast Boy had first seen it. The damage to the temple from the fight between Charand'r and Beast Boy was being repaired by a team of monks and craftsmen.

Arella had left to prepare a feast, but Raven and Beast Boy were standing there with a recovered Locrian, as well as Samendra and the rest of the council members and elders. Vasantha was standing in the background, as was young Jerichana, who was smiling and not wearing her hood.

Locrian's eyes were no longer the bright blue that they had been when Malchior had possessed him. He looked much older and more weary, but perhaps wiser from the experience.

"We are forever indebted to you for all you've done," Locrian said, and all the elders nodded in agreement.

"Um, no problem, dude," Beast Boy said after an awkward silence. Raven just gave a tiny smile.

"Why don't you stay with us a while?" Locrian offered. "Now that Azarath is restored, we can offer you peace and tranquility before you return home."

"You can lean our ways of mental insight and focus," Samendra added.

"I would like to be more focused sometimes," Beast Boy admitted.

"Meditation can help you find inner peace, as well as develop self discipline," Vasantha said.

"Maybe I could stand to learn a _little_ more self discipline," he said, with a glance at Raven, who nodded.

"Are we can teach you to be free of your troublesome sexual desires," another elder added.

"I'm outta here!" They watched in stunned silence as he marched out of the temple without a single look back.

All eyes turned to Raven, who shrugged and then made a little smile as she followed him out.

Charand'r was standing just outside the door, rubbing a bruise his head and being assisted by a couple young monks.

"Dude … No hard feelings, huh?" Beast Boy remarked as he walked past.

Charand'r didn't answer. He just sort of scowled at Beast Boy, who was so much shorter than he was, but yet had beaten him. Beast Boy shrugged and kept walking out into the plaza. Steam rose from the ground as the sun evaporated water from the previous rainstorm.

Raven caught up to him and they saw Azar's tomb was regenerating. He understood what she had meant by perpetually living wood as the dome resealed itself. Soon it was complete and looked like it had never been damaged.

.

.

.

They arrived back at Raven's house and stepped through the door which had been shattered by Charand'r and his axe. Raven let out a depressed sigh at the damage to her house, but used her powers to partially reassemble it and make it able to close.

"I'm sure they'll replace it," he assured her.

"I hope so."

"Let's stay one more night," he suggested.

"I'd like to ... But doesn't the team need us? We've been gone a long time…"

"No, they're not too short handed. Argent is there. I'm sure they don't even miss us."

Raven smiled, then after a moment she added, "But can she make corny jokes and act immature?"

"Maybe." He smiled. "Can she stay in her room and not have any fun?"

"Hey! I have fun." Her mock anger soon turned into a smile. "Haven't I proven that to you?"

"I suppose you have," he admitted.

"And you want to stay another night..."

He stepped in and put his hands on her shoulders. "And pick up where we left off?"

"Maybe," she said as they moved closer and their mouths met in a little kiss. Soon one kiss became several and then small kisses became bigger and more passionate ones.

"What would your mother say?" he teased.

"What Arella – I mean, my mother – doesn't know won't hurt her. We're not going to do anything that would cause her a great deal of worry, right?"

"Right," he agreed – after a brief pause. She rolled her eyes, but then they sat down on Raven's wooden sofa and went back to kissing.

"I meant what I said before … I do love you, Raven."

Now it was Raven's turn to pause. She hugged him. She kissed his cheek. She ran her tongue over the contours of his ear and then whispered, "I love you, too."

They didn't speak again for a long time, but communicated their affection in other ways.

Finally Beast Boy remarked, "Are we going to tell the others about this adventure?"

"Maybe some of it," she replied as she kissed his neck. "But what happens in Azarath ... stays in Azarath."

* * *

THE END

* * *

Yay, it's finished! I hope you liked it.


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